One of the neighborhoods in the Toronto district announced paying for food costs through a new program that allows community members to purchase meals for the needy and those who are unable to afford them.

The concept of restaurants offering prepaid meals for people facing food insecurity is not new in the city, but one of the neighborhood organizations in North York is taking this concept a step further.

NeighbourLink North York is launching a new program called Nourish a Neighbour, which allows community members to buy an extra meal at some of their favorite restaurants to give to a person in need.

When you order your meals, the extra order is printed on a ticket and posted in the restaurant window, where anyone unable to buy a meal themselves can pick it up and request it with dignity and leave with a nutritious meal. No questions asked.

As of now, the project, which was launched in February of this year, includes four local restaurants in the Willowdale area registered in the program.

The first company to fully sign onto the project was Yonge Cafe & Bistro, followed shortly by Another Land Coffee, Woodhouse BBQ, and Belle Restaurant & Bar, with more restaurants joining the goodwill.

Sebastian Biasucci, Marketing and Events Director, told blogTO: “This positive response from our initial contacts set a promising tone for the program, creating a ripple effect of goodwill and community engagement, while we continue to expand our reach, we hope to foster more collaboration with businesses that share our commitment to making a difference in the lives of our neighbors!”

However, the program not only supports hungry neighbors but also benefits businesses by generating additional revenue and extra exposure. It’s a complete win.

This is not the only initiative NeighbourLink is building to fight food insecurity in the community.

According to Sebastian, they run “a food bank distributing fresh food, a mobile food program delivering food from other food banks to those unable to access it, and meal trains where neighbors cook meals for those suffering from chronic illnesses,” to help keep the community fed.

You can participate by heading to any of the four participating businesses and purchasing a meal; if you want to go further, by volunteering with NeighbourLink in their other endeavors.