Niagara agencies to benefit from Tim Hortons Smile Cookie sales

Niagara Falls Review, Ray Spiteri

Local programs and services combating food insecurity and gender-based violence will benefit from the Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign in Niagara Falls.

One hundred per cent of proceeds from all the hand-decorated chocolate chunk cookies with pink and blue icing sold in the city April 27 to May 3 will be donated to Grow Community Food Literacy Centre and Birchway Niagara.

Each year, Tim Hortons customers and restaurant owners across Canada rally behind the weeklong campaign, with all the money raised going back to selected charities and community groups across the country.

In 2025, Tim Hortons customers helped raise $22.6 million.

More than $151 million has been raised since the campaign launched in 1996.

Grow Community Food Literacy Centre is focused on addressing long-term challenges of food insecurity by increasing access to, and affordability of, fresh foods, building food literacy skills and fostering community connection.

On Fourth Avenue in Niagara Falls, the charity serves more than 3,000 people in the region through its low-cost market and mobile market programs. It also offers cooking classes and workshops to build food literacy skills.

"Fresh, healthy food is a human right, not a privilege," said Pam Farrell, the centre's co-executive director. "The Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Campaign does more than fill a gap - it funds our Grow-on-the-Go, our electric mobile market that brings fresh groceries directly into the heart of Niagara's food deserts.

"Together, we aren't just fighting hunger - we are preserving dignity and choice while building a more just, resilient food system for everyone."

With 28 per cent of Niagara households experiencing food insecurity, Grow officials said they are seeing high demand for access to fresh food.

"In a time of rising costs, healthy food shouldn't be the first thing families have to sacrifice," said Rose Iannacchino, also co-executive director.

"The Smile Cookie campaign is the engine that drives our mobile market directly into the neighbourhoods that need it most. We aren't just handing out food - we are breaking down barriers and ensuring that every person in Niagara can shop for fresh groceries with the respect they deserve."

Birchway Niagara provides safe shelter, counselling and other forms of assistance to women and children experiencing abuse in south Niagara.

Each year, the agency helps hundreds of individuals through its 24-hour support line, emergency shelter, legal and transitional housing support, and outreach and aftercare programs.

With high rates of gender-based violence continuing to impact communities, the demand for safe shelter and support also remains high, said Birchway officials.

Fifteen of the agency's 45 safe beds are funded entirely by community donations and fundraising activities.

"The Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign plays an important role in making sure those spaces remain available for women and children seeking safety," said Jennifer Gauthier, Birchway Niagara's executive director.

Here are the beneficiary charities for the other Tim Hortons locations in Niagara:

Fort Erie: Hospice Niagara

Port Colborne: Port Colborne legion branch

Welland: The Hope Centre

Pelham: Wellspring Niagara

West Lincoln: West Lincoln Community Care

Lincoln: Rose Visiting Volunteers

Grimsby: McNally House

St. Catharines, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Thorold: Birchway Niagara, Hospice Niagara

Marotta Family Hospital, Greater Niagara General Hospital: Niagara Health Foundation

Niagara College: Food Banks Canada