About CARE/OF and Bridget
Care/of was inspired by Bridget’s background in music, having worked as a musician and being exposed to various cultural events. She wanted to help create well-paid opportunities for artists, chefs, and community organizations to share their expertise. Simultaneously, she realized that family and friends working in the corporate world were growing tired of mundane work events. This sparked her idea to bridge the gap between local creatives in Toronto and businesses. Care/Of flourished during the pandemic providing a medium for coworkers to remain connected and build team cohesiveness while creating opportunities for chefs and creatives who were negatively impacted by lockdowns in a safe virtual environment.

The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is at the core of Care/Of’s mission to connect the arts, culture, and social justice communities with the opportunity to enrich, engage, and enlighten teams in the business community. Bridget believes that creatives are an essential part of the city of Toronto’s ecosystem and we need to prioritize ensuring they can afford to stay. Care/Of focuses on engaging local and sustainable suppliers and offers liveable wages to all staff.

Foodshare
The partnership between Care/Of and FoodShare is one of their most popular workshops . Bridget had long been aware of FoodShare’s significant impact within the charitable sector as a leader in advocating for food justice. When jade guthrie, community food manager at FoodShare Toronto, and Bridget connected for a conversation, they saw the opportunity to collaborate by developing learning workshops about anti-racism and anti-oppression through Jamaican cuisine. Through these education sessions, this dynamic partnership has contributed almost $20,000 to FoodShare’s community food programs, all while engaging work teams in essential and difficult conversations about race, oppression, and food access. FoodShare’s work has never been more crucial as the current state of inflation has perpetuated a food crisis incommunities across our city. Through numerous community-led food initiatives and work alongside communities most affected by food insecurity, FoodShare is challenging the systemic barriers that prevent individuals from accessing the human right to food. Their goal is that every Torontonian can feed themselves and their loved ones with dignity and joy.

On the Horizon
As Care/Of continues to grow Bridget wants to prioritize formalizing its CSR policies to further embed its community-centered approach into the business. They are continuing their partnership with FoodShare through additional anti-oppression workshops about the environmental impacts of our food system through at-home canning and body liberation and fat acceptance through baking. Care/Of is also getting ready to launch a series of learning workshops led by Indigenous leaders. Lastly, Care/of hopes to continue to involve diverse charities and non-profits into their programming by developing mutually beneficial partnerships that highlight community leaders while giving work teams that chance to learn from their expertise.

Learn more about Care/of here

Learn more about FoodShare here