DraftKings to match Ontario sports bets with donations to Feed Ontario

DraftKings will donate $1 to Feed Ontario for every wager placed on its Ontario sportsbook from Saturday, Oct. 10, through Monday, Oct. 12. The company has pledged a maximum donation of $100,000 over the Thanksgiving weekend. This could provide up to 200,000 meals, as each dollar donated supplies the equivalent of two healthy meals. Feed Ontario is the province's largest collective of hunger-relief organizations, supporting a network of more than 1,200 food banks.

"Thanksgiving is a time to give back to our communities and reflect on the importance of coming together," said Sabrina Macias, senior vice president of global communications and corporate social responsibility at DraftKings. "We are proud to support Feed Ontario and its network of food banks and hunger-relief organizations. This donation will help provide emergency food assistance to people and families across Ontario during the holiday season and beyond." DraftKings employees are also volunteering with local food banks through the company's DraftKings SERVES program.

Feed Ontario CEO Carolyn Stewart said the campaign arrives when demand for food banks is high. "At a time when more Ontarians are turning to food banks than ever before, relationships like this have a meaningful impact on communities across the province," Stewart said. "We are deeply grateful to DraftKings and its customers for helping make a difference through this campaign. Every dollar donated will help support Feed Ontario's network of food banks, ensuring people and families struggling to make ends meet can access healthy, nutritious food when they need it most."

Food bank usage across Canada has hit record levels, according to Food Banks Canada. The organization's latest HungerCount report showed visits reached 2.17 million nationwide in March, the highest monthly total ever recorded. That figure is a 5.2 percent increase from the prior year and nearly double the pre-pandemic total from 2019. Children made up one-third of all food bank clients, while 19.4 percent of clients reported employment as their primary source of income.