By Camille Aubin
[email protected]

Mealshare, a national social enterprise on a mission to help end youth hunger, recently announced a new ongoing national partnership with A&W Canada. A healthy meal will be provided to a youth in need for every Mealshare item purchased at any A&W location across Canada, and the A&W in Invermere is no exception.

One in five children lives with food insecurity in Canada. Mealshare is committed to creating a world where it’s easier to share with those in need, and every child and youth is fed as a result. “We won’t stop until we’ve seen the end of youth hunger,” said Jeremy Bryant, co-founder of Mealshare, in a recent press release.

Mealshare was founded in 2013 with four partner restaurants in Alberta. Since then, the organization has expanded to more than 1,200 restaurants across Canada. Through its “Buy One, Give One” model, the social enterprise has provided more than 3.8 million meals since its inception. “In Invermere, we are hoping to provide 1,200 meals annually and 1,250,000 meals across Canada. We also hope that this partnership will encourage local restaurants to join our program, thus increasing the impact in the community,” explained Lauren Hennessy, Vancouver community leader coach for Mealshare.

Invermere residents can purchase a Mealshare menu item at A&W in Invermere and one meal will be donated to youth struggling with hunger. “The Mealshare items purchased at the A&W in Invermere will provide support locally to the Family Dynamix Association and to Save the Children internationally. Whenever a Mealshare item is purchased at a participating restaurant, the restaurant donates $1,” said Hennessy.

On Mealshare Mondays, customers can purchase the cheddar bacon uncle burger combo, and a meal will be provided for a young person in need through Mealshare. Every other day of the week, customers can “Make it a Mealshare” by adding $1 to their order. Whenever customers make this donation, one meal is provided to a youth in need through MealShare.

For more information about Mealshare or to join their mission, visit mealshare.ca.