Ottawa tech company donates nearly 100,000 meals to community organizations

An Ottawa tech company has donated nearly 100,000 meals to community organizations since the start of the pandemic. CTV’s Peter Szperling reports.

An Ottawa tech company is about to mark a milestone of donating 100,000 meals to community organizations.

Optical and photonics manufacturer Lumentum is in the business of technology but the company is also making, delivering and donating meals to places like women’s shelters, long term care homes and the Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice.

The initiative started in April 2020 during COVID-19 lockdowns.

“When COVID hit, we went to a work from home model and we had a subsidized cafeteria and that was not being utilized,” said Keith Aguinaga, senior director of sales operations at Lumentum.

“The executive team here in Ottawa got together and we thought we could utilize that for groups and areas in the community that could really benefit from it.”

When the lockdowns ended, the meals continued.

“We’ve really been involved in the community. We do a lot of initiatives for different programs throughout the year and when we got involved with the meals program, we saw that there really was this need of not necessarily having to give dollars, but the meals themselves contributed to helping the budgets at these various places,” Aguinaga said.

“it’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve been involved in personally.”

Lumentum Staff at Roger Nielson Children's Hospice enjoying a meal donated by Lumentum. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)

The food is cooked, prepared and packaged in the kitchen of the Lumentum cafeteria. Along with serving 150 to 200 employees, staff prepare meals for the donation program.

“We don’t offer cafeteria-style food. All of our food is a restaurant quality,” said executive cafeteria owner Hawk Yilmaz.

On Wednesday, he was preparing food for two organizations, including Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice.

“It really brings us together,” said Bruno Perrier, manager of community engagement and volunteer relations.

“It really helps us to connect as a team, helps us connect with our kids, with our families. So it’s really, really impactful.”

Food is brough it twice a week to feed staff, volunteers, physicians and families.

“I cannot express how much I look forward to Wednesdays and Fridays when we get lunch days. It just brings us all together,” said social worker Sarah Allan-Wiseman.

“To know that we are going to be taken care of with the nutritious meal is really such a lovely thing for us here.”