We are thrilled to announce that since October Ocean Choice has been providing Guests of The Gathering Place with a healthy meal of fish on Friday’s – something that we will continue throughout 2021.
“As a result of COVID-19, the number of Guests coming to The Gathering Place has been increasing daily. There are thousands of people every week in need of our services,” says Nancy Sullivan, Interim Executive Director, The Gathering Place. “This has put a tremendous strain on our operations. Thankfully, Ocean Choice has agreed to provide all the fish we need every Friday to feed the Guests of The Gathering Place. This time of year is particularly difficult for the most vulnerable in our society – they struggle for basics like food, clothing and shelter. This is where companies such as Ocean Choice and its employees come in.”
When we heard this, we knew we had to do something to help! When we reached out to The Gathering Place to see what we could do, they informed us that they struggle to provide their Guests with a consistent supply of healthy proteins, something that is extremely important to their health and wellness.
“We all know how COVID-19 is affecting everyone. But one thing we were really moved by here at home was the news of the dramatic increase in the number of people needing the services of The Gathering Place,” says Martin Sullivan, CEO, Ocean Choice. “Since seafood is our product we thought what would be better than to help feed the Guests of the Gathering Place. The work that the staff and volunteers at The Gathering Place do day in and day out is so important and to be able to support their work means a lot to us and our 1,700 employees.”
Ocean Choice is hoping to provide Guests with a wide variety of seafood, including Redfish, Halibut, Flounder and Cod, species that are harvested locally by the hundreds of crew employed on the Company’s offshore fishing vessels.
“Having a company like Ocean Choice provide a consistent source of quality protein, allows us to feed Guests a healthy meal of fish every week. This is extremely important for our Guests, as it will help support their immune systems to get them through the harsh winter months ahead,” says Brian Janes, Head Chef, The Gathering Place.
In addition to donating seafood, we felt it is also important for our employees to have an opportunity to pitch in and help out The Gathering Place. On Friday, December 11th several employees from Head Office headed to The Gathering Place to volunteer cooking and serving a meal of seafood for over 300 Guests at The Gathering Place – something that we all walked away from feeling extremely humbled by.
To keep the spirit of giving going throughout 2021, every month we will visit The Gathering Place to prepare and serve meals to Guests, sort through donations, and take on any additional work that The Gathering Place may require to help them continue to provide their Guests with the services they have come accustomed to receiving.
We look forward to supporting The Gathering Place and the extremely important work that their staff and team of volunteers carry out every single day to provide much needed services for their Guests.
