P.E.I. companies' big food bank donations 'a natural fit'

In recognition of difficult times during the pandemic, two P.E.I. companies have stepped up to donate to some organizations that are helping people through it.

Veseys Seeds and Atlantic Aqua Farms have, in separate initiatives, donated a total of $50,000 to food banks.

It's been a busy time for Veseys. People across the continent have been turning to gardening and swamping Veseys, which ships all over North America, with seed orders. Order volumes were more than four times higher than normal, at what was already the busiest time of year.

Despite putting on extra shifts and working 18 hours a day, six days a week the company couldn't keep up. In mid-April it shut down the seed section of its website for a few weeks, rather than take orders it had little hope of fulfilling.

As business calms down a little, Veseys wanted to find a way to thank everyone, both staff and customers, for their support.

"Food Banks Canada, who support all of the food banks across Canada, seemed to be a logical choice because their efforts are toward feeding the hungry," said John Barrett, director of sales, marketing and development at Veseys Seeds.

"Us being in the vegetable seed business and helping people grow food, it just seemed to be a natural fit."

The company donated $40,000.

Donation made in difficult times

Business has not been as strong at Atlantic Aqua Farms.

The company specializes in shellfish, and that sector has been particularly hard hit by the closure of restaurants.

CEO Terry Ennis said oyster sales dropped to 10 per cent of normal, and sales of mussels to 25 per cent. Even now, sales are less than half of normal.

But that didn't stop the company from donating $10,000 to P.E.I. food banks.

"COVID's been tough on everybody. We're quite happy to get our team engaged in doing some community support work," said Ennis.

Ennis said they donated a combination of food and cash, primarily cash, because some of the smaller food banks don't have the space to store a lot of food.

Staff from different locations loaded up a van and drove tip to tip to deliver the donations.

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