a good idea for good

The groundwork for the foundation began a few years ago when Elliott Penner was President of French's Foods.

He knew that people care about their families and they want what's best for them - including the quality and origin of the food they eat. As a result, he made major modifications to all of the company's products formulas and ingredients.

He also understood that Canadians are generous and care about their communities and want to take care of their neighbours. Clearly there is a huge amount of goodwill that resides in us.

This led to an awareness that many Canadians were hungry every day. This turned into a long relationship with Food Banks Canada. He discovered that Food Banks Canada used $27 Million of cash donations to purchase food from retailers and wholesalers.

Through Elliott's work he became aware of the plight of the tomato farmers in Leamington, Ontario which led to using local tomatoes for Canadian French's ketchup.

two major issues were clear

food insecurity

Canada is a wealthy country yet many Canadians are food insecure.
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In fact, 1 in 6 children are hungry every day.

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surplus

A bumper crop in Ontario in 2016 left millions of pounds of surplus tomatoes unused. At the same time there was manufacturing capacity and yet for many reasons the tomatoes were not used.
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Had our model existed in 2016 we would have been able to use those tomatoes for our products. There was opportunity to convert the surplus, combine it with goodwill in our network and to create food opportunities.

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But that was just the beginning. The more we looked the more we realized that there was a much bigger opportunity. One that could transform the way that we could bring food to those who need it most.

our original thought then evolved into a transformational idea

Initially we were focused on sourcing surplus crops and turning them into good nutritious food. This was a good idea but it was apparent that this was too variable and inconsistent. The food insecurity problem needs to be tackled every day. We evolved the idea to include surplus food and manufacturing capacity and turn them into The For GOOD Foundation product range. By converting these surplus opportunities we could make products at an unbelievable every day value that were available only to food banks, shelters and missions. This would have a huge impact on how food banks source their food products and spend their donations.
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Our model gets things done in a very efficient way - it's truly a transformational idea. We don't make any money on any transactions and our manufacturing partners make our products at cost or at a significantly discounted price. This means that we can manufacture our products at a very low cost - 25%-60% less than at retail or wholesale prices and food banks get a more powerful bang for their buck.
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Better yet, your For GOOD donations are used to reduce the cost and in some cases give products for 100% free.
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The idea is not about making money or building an empire - it's about transforming goodwill through our partnerships and making good nutritious food for those who need it most. In fact, we don't have any salaries nor any overhead or rent or lunches or donuts - so that means that 100% of your For GOOD donations goes back to give the food we make. This is not a profit making enterprise. We do this because it's a good thing to do.
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It is the goodwill of our partners that makes this possible. It's a simple idea but when like-minded partners who want to do GOOD things band together it is remarkable what you can do to help those who need it most.

our good idea became bigger

This idea of caring people helping others is the supporting idea behind this initiative. People and groups coming together to amplify the power of GOOD. First, it was the partnership with Food Banks Canada, then the formation of the founding board of directors - Elliott Penner, Catherine Dennis, Kathleen Murphy and Bridget Child who helped bring the idea to life.
The framework for the foundation became clear - in order to do GOOD things in our community we could use surplus food and available manufacturing combined with the GOODWILL in our partnerships to help create opportunities to help feed those who are hungry.

the good idea was amplified
when for good partners banded with us

As the idea grew, so did our network of GOOD partners, Highbury Canco came on board first and became a For GOOD manufacturing partner. They find ways to fit our products into its schedule. Farmers can reduce the price of crops to us when their harvest yield is higher than expected or they can provide it for free when they have a bumper crop and have no place for their goods. We met with Mosaic Design who offered to design our logo and graphics at no cost, then with Fort Dearborn who gave us a reduced price on our printed labels, and with Cloudraker who designed this website for free. Next it was Stikeman Elliott who provided pro bono legal services to ensure that everything we did would be beyond reproach. We've recently added two more GOOD manufacturing partners - AGT Foods and Ocean's Brands.
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All of this generosity makes a truly transformational enterprise and led us to name our foundation The For GOOD Foundation.

we're for good and
we're unique and better

We knew we wanted to be a different kind of charity - that we would ALL volunteer our time and expertise and work with like-minded partners who would donate their time and resources to help us with our guarantee that 100% of ALL donations would go back to the cause.

OUR MISSION

We are a group of volunteers who are transforming how food banks get good nutritious food. We take manufacturing and food opportunities and use our partner network to develop high quality food at exceptional value. We deliver that food to those who need it most.

We are a charitable organization with 100% of ALL donations going back to the cause. We can do this because we don't have any salaries, no office, no overhead, no lunches or entertaining or administration costs.