2020 Toonies for Tummies campaign kicks off

The Grocery Foundation’s annual Toonies for Tummies fundraising campaign is now in full swing.

The 2020 campaign marks the return of Empire's Sobeys and Foodland banners to the Ontario program, and new banners in Western Canada (B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwest Ontario) including Sobeys, IGA, Thrifty Foods and Safeway.

READ: Toonies for Tummies doubles store count thanks to Empire Company

Empire's food retailers join Metro, Food Basics and Longo’s, as well as a number of independents, in Ontario. In Western Canada, Save-On-Foods, Buy-Low Foods and Nester’s Market are part of the campaign. (The number of stores participating in the 2020 campaign, which asks shoppers for $2 at checkout, jumps from 550 to 1,100.)

According to The Grocery Foundation, it’s estimated that one in five children in Canada attends school hungry, and in some communities, the incidence is higher. This year's goal is to raise $1.8 million, which would provide 900,000 nutritious breakfasts and mid-morning snacks to hungry students.

The 2019 Toonies for Tummies campaign raised a record-breaking $1.5 million, 25% over the goal and 42% over the previous year’s donations.

Toonies for Tummies runs to Mar. 7, and is supported in-store, on-shelf and through an integrated marketing campaign featuring comedian Sean Cullen and radio personality Taylor Kaye.