Irish Jiggs Dinner on tap for local food bank Sidelines Sports Eatery to host Sunday, March 14th event A benefit Irish Jiggs Dinner will be held Sunday, March 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Sidelines Sports Eatery, 2111 Mellwood Ave., to raise funds for the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank.

Cost for the traditional Irish dinner is $20 per person and includes a beverage and entertainment by the band Punching Buddha. With the luck of the Irish, dozens of lucky patrons could win raffle and door prize ranging from restaurant and salon gift certificates to clothing items and health club memberships.

According to Eric Sitter, co-owner of Sidelines, “There is no cover charge to get in and everyone is welcome, so please bring your friends out to celebrate with us. A dinner purchase will allow Sidelines to support hungry families that the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank serves throughout the year. It’s a great cause and a terrific way to celebrate the spirit of St. Patrick while helping people who are hungry."

The dinner menu includes corn beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Beverages include one soda, beer or a single non-premium mixed drink.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call Sidelines Sports Eatery at (419) 474-0000 or Melinda Seegert at the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank at (419) 242-5000, ext. 216. ##

Southview High School Students Dance for A Chance

On March 27th students at Southview High School in Sylvania will host their 7th annual Dance for a Chance Fundraiser. This year the event is focused on hunger and will benefit the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank and Will Work For Food. The annual benefit has raised more the $75,000 in the past six years for various charities.

The event is a 12 hour dance-a-thon held at Southview High School. It is planned and run by the students with help from faculty staff and community members. The students that participate raise $65.00 or more in pledges prior to the event. The funds will then be donated to the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank and Will Work For Food to help in the fight against hunger.

Due to last year’s great success, The Toledo Symphony Orchestra will be participating again in Orchestras Feeding America, the second annual national food drive involving America’s symphony orchestras. The Toledo Symphony, in partnership with the Girl Scouts of America, will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank at concerts taking place on March 26, 27 and 28 at the Peristyle.

The food drive will be part of a three-performance weekend for the Toledo Symphony. On Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, the Toledo Symphony, under Stefan Sanderling, performs music of Strauss and Brahms in the Classics Series performance "A Bow to Brahms." Works include Strauss' Till Eulenspeigel’s Merry Pranks, Death and Transfiguration, and Brahms' Violin Concerto featuring violinist Jennifer Frautschi. On Sunday March 28, the Toledo Symphony will celebrate the immense musical talent of our region's young people. Winners of the 2009 Toledo Symphony League Young Artist Competition will appear with the Toledo Symphony, while the musicians of the Toledo Youth Orchestra join their professional colleagues in a side-by-side performance.

As a result of the food drive last year, the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank received 1,475 pounds of food from the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra is very excited to be involved with the food drive again this year, and hopes to exceed the number of food donations from last year.

To date, nearly 200 orchestras have come together to combat hunger in their communities through Orchestras Feeding America, and the number of participants is growing daily. The project will take place in March and April, and is organized by the League of American Orchestras, which represents the nation’s professional, volunteer, and youth orchestras, and Feeding America's network of more than 200 food banks.

For more information call (419)-246-8000

Notre Dame Academy Lacrosse team will be holding a food drive in conjunction with their Super Scrimmage on Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The event will be held at Notre Dame Academy, 3535 W. Sylvania Ave., Toledo. Organized by Head Coach Jason Allen, everyone is encouraged to bring a canned food item for admission to be donated to the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank. The teams with the most donated food and the most spirited t-shirts will win free pizza from Marco’s. Winners will be announced between the hours of 12:00 and 1:00 p.m.

Varity and Junior Varity teams from Perrysburg, Notre Dame, Bedford, Anthony Wayne and Sylvania will be competing in either purple, god, red, red or black t-shirts. They have been instructed to display the event slogan, "Feedin' the Need," on the shirts. Each team will play 3 games, each consisting of 2 15 minute halves.

For more information call 419-514-6564

Spring Food Drive to benefit the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank

Since the 1950s OptiVue has been providing eye care for citizens of Northwest Ohio and has grown to be the area's largest provider of vision care services. With four locations in the Greater Toledo areas, OptiVue provides convenient access to all their vision services in order to accommodate today's busy lifestyles. Each location is open during evening hours as well as Saturdays.

In addition to their dedication to general eye care, the professionals at OptiVue are dedicated to the fight against hunger in Northwest Ohio. During the 2009 holiday season OptiVue held a food drive that raised enough food items for over a 130 meals. From March 17th thru 31st OptiVue will again be collecting much needed food items during their Spring Food Drive that will be donated to the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank and distributed to those in needed in Northwestern Ohio. Help OptiVue and the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank in their fight against hunger by dropping off shelf stable food items at one of the four OptiVue locations.

For more information call 419-242-5000

Staybridge Inn & Suites

Staybridge Inn & Suite Toledo - Maumee partnered with the Toledo NorthwesternOhio Food Bank this fall by hosting an event to gather much needed food items for those less fortunate. The competition began with a kick-off event in September and continued through the month of October.

They did an excellent job asking corporations in the downtown Maumee, Perrysburg and Airport Highway areas to host a food drive and to compete for the most poundage raised.

The event raised over 900 pounds of assorted non-perishables. The winning company received one complimentary weekend stay at its Maumee facility, located within The Shops at Fallen Timbers, a mecca for shopping and entertainment.

Butterfly House Corn Maze Project
Fall food drive produces “a-maz-ing” results!
In coordination with their annual Corn Maze, the Butterfly House held a food drive to benefit the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank. The Butterfly House Corn Maze featured a Toledo Walleye-themed maze to welcome Toledo’s new hockey team. For every donation to the Corn Maze, attendees received $1 off the price of an adult admission to a Toledo Walleye Game.

The food drive, which began October 8 and ended on Halloween night. collected over 500 pounds of food for the Food Bank; enough for nearly 390 meals. Management at the Butterfly House said they got involved because they are concerned with the growing hunger issue in our area.

The Butterfly House is located at 11455 Obee Road in Whitehouse, Ohio. For more information about the Butterfly House call (419) 877-2733 or visit http://www.butterfly-house.com.

Youth Hockey Team Puts Hunger on Ice

Hockey fans headed to the rink on Sunday, Nov. 22 to watch the Toledo Cherokee play the Chicago Force at the Team Toledo Ice House were encouraged to think about grabbing a can of food from the pantry before heading to the game.

The Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank (TNWOFB) was at the game to collect cans of non-perishable food or monetary donation. It was all a part of the third annual "Put Hunger on Ice" campaign that helps feed needy families right here in Northwest Ohio.

The Toledo Cherokee said they wanted to help the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank because of the vital role they play in our community.

"We're very grateful to the Toledo Cherokee and their fans for their hard work and support," said James M. Caldwell, president & chief executive officer of TNWOFB.

Pampered Chef Presents Food Bank with over $4,000 check

The area food bank coordinator with Pampered Chef, a national direct seller of specialty kitchen tools, presented a $4,360 check to the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank (TNWOFB) on November 16. The check, made possible through Pampered Chef and Feeding America’s Round-Up from the Heart campaign.

The year-long Round-Up from the Heart campaign is a team effort among Pampered Chef’s staff, consultants and their customers. Cooking Show customers are encouraged to "round-up" their orders to the nearest dollar or more. Funds raised, are donated to the 200 Feeding America affiliated food banks across the United States, based on zip code.

In addition to rounding-up orders, a special product is introduced each year as an additional way to raise funds to fight hunger. This year, customers were able to purchase a decorative trivet that protects counters and tabletops from hot food. For every trivet sold, The Pampered Chef contributed $2 to Feeding America.

The campaign’s ultimate goal is to make sure there is food available for those who need it. Through the Round-Up from the Heart charitable giving campaign, Pampered Chef has raised more than $14.4 million to help fight hunger in America since 1991.

TARTA drives food bank holiday initiative

Stuff-the-bus initiative benefits hungry families

A TARTA bus was parked at National City Bank’s, Westgate Village Shopping Center location, (3205 Secor Road), from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. to collect food on behalf of the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank’s (TNWOFB) Scouting for Food campaign.  The goal of the Scouting for Food, “Stuff-the-Bus” food collection drive, was to feed hungry families during the holidays.

Scouting for Food is an annual food drive that runs through the holidays.  The campaign partners the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank with the Boy Scouts of America, Erie Shores Council, the community and local businesses like TARTA, National City Bank, Kroger’s and others to help hungry families.

National City Demonstrates Team Spirit with Food Drive

National City, now a part of PNC, participated in Scouting for Food with its 2nd ANNUAL Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank / Buckeyes vs. Wolverines Food Collection Rivalry!

Between November 12 and November 30, National City employees and customers showed their competitive spirit by helping raise needed food for TNWOFB. All branches and departments decorated two collection boxes—one to support Ohio State and the other to support Michigan. Employees and customers purchase non-perishable food items and donated them in support of their favorite team.