Bradford's freshii hosts second fundraiser with A Bradford Christmas (14 photos)

Bradford's freshii and A Bradford Christmas Campaign joined forces again for a second fundraiser, this time donating $1 from all bowls and salads sold on Wednesday in support of the Helping Hand Food Bank.

Customers poured in once again during the lunch and dinner rush to either make a donation in the glass jar at the front counter, or to order a delicious bowl where $1 from each dish sold was donated to A Bradford Christmas Fundraiser.

A Bradford Christmas run by two local teen sisters, Emily and Sarah Dahlgren, has set a goal to raise a whopping $50K for their holiday hamper program by Dec. 15. 

freshii hosted a similar fundraiser with the girls back in October where they raised $750 from sales and donations collected in one day. MP Scot Davidson matched the total by donating an additional $750, for a total of $1,500 for the cause. 

freshii owner Salim Bardai was eager to help the girls with their goal again and decided to open the fundraiser to include all bowls on his menu for the second event.

“The first one went so well for them, and the publicity and attraction that they gained, I just felt it was important to continue the momentum as we get into December and Christmas time,” shares Bardai. “This is another reminder to the community that there are people out there that require this help."

Bardai adds that the girls have done a “phenomenal” job of inspiring the town of Bradford and local business owners to get involved with the community.

“I’m just thrilled to be a part of this," expresses Bardai.

Carolyn Khan, the new president of the Bradford Food Bank, and Trevor Nyers, the food bank treasurer, stopped by for lunch on Wednesday to support the girls.

“We continue to be blown away by what these girls are doing,” shares Nyers.

Other members of the community who stopped by to support on Wednesday included Councillor Peter Ferragine, realtor Louise Batista, Deputy Mayor James Leduc, and Epicure Consultant Jessica Crossan, who dropped off $750 cash from a recent Epicure fundraiser she held with A Bradford Christmas a couple of weeks ago. 

In total, freshii raised $90 in-store from the sale of bowls/salads, and an additional $320 in cash donations for a grand total of $410. 

“People can still donate [in store] as we will have the jar here,” notes Bardai.

A Bradford Christmas has raised $12,500 so far and will continue to work with local businesses to help reach their goal. 

The Dahlgren sisters will be at Bradford’s new F45 Gym this Saturday for a ‘workout fundraiser’. They are also hosting an online silent auction with donations from local businesses, which ends on Nov. 30. To learn more, visit the auction website here. 

To help support A Bradford Christmas’ initiative, donations can be made to: [email protected]