Same Mission. New Chapter. Greater Impact Together.

Good nutrition is essential to a child's development, shaping how they grow, learn and thrive, but for 2.4 million children across Canada, it is increasingly out of reach. That's where community organizations step in, working to ensure young people have access to good, healthy food all year round.  

Last year, UNIQLO's team members joined Second Harvest’s kit packing events to help bridge this nutrition gap. A total of 6,000 nutritious snack kits were packed and distributed to Community Kitchens of Calgary, The Salvation Army in Edmonton and Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (CNRC) in Winnipeg.  

For CNRC, the snack kits helped the organization extend its reach while making the most of its resources.

“Receiving these snack packs allowed us to directly support our core food programs at a minimal operational cost through our partnership with Second Harvest,” said Guillermo Vivado, food security manager.  

But the impact didn't stop at the lunch table. Any remaining snacks were redirected into the organization's emergency food hampers so families facing sudden food insecurity could access support right away. What began as a snack became part of a family’s food supply during a difficult moment.

At Second Harvest, we know that lasting change happens when we all work together toward a shared mission. Behind every pound of food rescued is a partner that believes that good food belongs on plates, not in landfills. Our partnership with UNIQLO is one of the powerful examples that shows what’s possible when a company and its employees show up for their communities.  

In 2025, UNIQLO made a generous $110,000 donation to Second Harvest, helping us rescue and redistribute enough food to provide 618,635 meals to communities.  

The company’s staff also brought that commitment to life through hands-on volunteering: 86 team members contributed 174 hours, packing snack kits in Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, and sorting through 4,725 pounds of food in our warehouse in Etobicoke so they could be delivered to our non-profit partners.

But numbers only tell part of the story. The real result is in the smiles on children's faces when they eat a warm, nutritious meal. It's a family getting support exactly when they need it most. It's a community organization having the resources to do more.  

For CNRC, UNIQLO’s support highlighted the ripple effect when businesses connect with organizations rooted in their communities.

“We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the UNIQLO team. It is truly inspiring to see a retail brand connect directly with grassroots efforts like Second Harvest’s Feeding Our Future program to make a real difference in the community," Guillermo explained.

This is just the beginning.

We’re excited to share that UNIQLO has committed to a second year of partnership, including another generous $100,000 donation. This continued support means we can keep building on what we accomplished together: rescuing more good food, supporting the organizations working closest to their communities and ensuring nutritious food reaches people when and where it’s needed.

"Our team at UNIQLO is proud to support Second Harvest for two years in a row, as they work to address critical challenges such as hunger and food insecurity across Canada," said Polly Chen, sustainability manager at UNIQLO. "Hand-on opportunities like the snack packing event helped bring the realities of food insecurity into sharper focus. What stood out most for us was knowing that the short time we spent together would translate into tangible support for people in need. It was a powerful reminder that even small actions can make a real difference when people come together with a shared purpose."

As this partnership enters its next chapter, we’re looking forward to new opportunities to turn surplus food into nourishment, employee engagement into meaningful action and shared commitment into lasting change.