Since its establishment in 2007, Paramount Fine Foods has been dedicated to collaborating with charities to give back to their loyal community. Serving warm, high-quality Mediterranean cuisine, Paramount builds its initiatives in a timely manner based on what the community needs. Having recently partnered with Dare to Care, the restaurant chain has reached an impressive milestone, donating tens of thousands of meals and counting.
During the month of September, Paramount has been tailoring their initiatives to youth going back to school. The restaurant chain was able to continue their donations through a free empowerment event with The Hangout, as well as through International Day of Charity. OnSide Media had the opportunity to speak to Karalyn White, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs, for a second time. We discussed Paramount’s impressive milestone of donations while emphasizing on the integrity and commitment to the restaurant’s charity work.
OnSide Media: We spoke in February about the Resolutions Solutions initiative and your work with Dare to Care. How does it feel to reach this milestone of over ten thousand meals only six months later?
Karalyn White: It’s more than 10,000. Its tens of thousands of meals. It feels phenomenal to give back to the community that has really supported us during this time.
OS: Why was The Hangout the right partnership for this particular time? How did attendees respond to the free empowerment event?
KW: We chose the Hangout because we thought it was very timely. The empowerment event too place on September 4th, and it was geared to help youth switch gears and integrate back into the school community. The event also corresponded nicely with the International Day of Charity on September 5th. Every year, Paramount donates a meal to someone in need for every $25 spent. Since it was in the same weekend, we knew that the outpour would be strong, and we committed those meals in advance for International Day of Charity. We definitely have more partners to work with going forward.
CEO of Paramount Fine Foods. Entrepreneur, Philanthropist & Activist.
OS: Which partner are you most excited to work with in the near future?
KW: The Hangout donated 200 meals. On the International Day of Charity, we “raised” over 1000 meals throughout the company. For the remainder of the month, we will be working with Anishnawbe Health Toronto, which supports the wellbeing of Indigenous people with western and traditional health care practices. And Humanity Share Meals, who partnered with us throughout the Dare to Care and Hangout campaigns.
OS:What criteria do you use when choosing organizations to partner with?
KW: We try to make sure that the organization is within the local community, that they are apart of the Toronto and Mississauga area. We also try to make sure that the organizations we choose resonates with the time. There are always so many people who need help. In the winter, we donate to homeless people who need shelter and warm meals. For the fall season, we are focusing on kids going back to school, as well as the wellbeing of the Indigenous through Anishnawbe Health. We try to be aware of what is going on in the world, as well as our community, and try to target those who most need our help.
OS: How has your partnership with Dare to Care enhanced your community’s desire to give back? Do you notice a difference in your customer base regarding humanitarianism?
KW: Absolutely! We hear from our guests all the time that they support us because we give back to our community. On days that we donate meals when people choose to dine with us, we find that there is a tremendous amount of support from the community. Especially during a time where people are supporting local restaurants that are, in turn, giving back to the local community.
For more information, visit https://paramountfinefoods.com
Author: Vanessa Butera, Content Writer, The Onside Media, Toronto, Canada. If you have stories to share kindly email: – vanessa.butera@theonside.com
