Budweiser Gardens gives away food from cancelled OHL Games to London women's shelter
CBC News | Posted: March 13, 2020 7:06 PM | Last Updated: March 13, 2020
There is a silver lining to some of the chaos caused by the spread of the coronavirus
The sudden suspension of hockey and basketball games at London's Budweiser Gardens created a food supply issue for the city's biggest entertainment facility.
It was earlier announced that all London Knights hockey games and London Lightning basketball games have been suspended until further notice because of concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because no games will be played this weekend, Budweiser Gardens found itself with $1,000 worth of perishable produce that they can't use, so they've decided to donate the food to My Sister's Place, a local women's shelter.
"We're trying to find some positive [news] out of all that's going on, and hopefully they can put the food to good use," said Budweiser Gardens general manager, Brian Ohl.
"Pretty much every vegetable you can name from carrots, celery, to cheeses that wouldn't make the expiry, basically all perishable items for the next two Knights games," said the arena's executive chef Ryan Lerch.
He said the food would normally go to their 28 luxury suites and the Talbot Grill on the arena's second floor and all told, the food would be able to serve nearly 400 people.
"They seemed really excited," he said. "They said fresh produce is something they're always looking for."
Meanwhile, the facility has announced it is rescheduling entertainment productions that have been postponed because of the health concerns.
Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham has been re-scheduled for July 12. And OHL says they're working on new dates for the children's production Baby Shark.
Ohl said they're hoping fans will still want to see the re-scheduled productions but ticket refunds can be arranged.