After retiring from his demanding career as a partner for a national accounting firm, Eric Paton knew he still had lots to give – and to discover. Determined to keep learning new skills, he purchased a bike and began training for long-distance rides in his basement.

“What started as a personal challenge became something much bigger when I connected it to raising funds for Food Banks Canada,” Eric explains. As a parent himself, he’d been struck by a conversation with a school principal who told him he kept sandwich meat and bread in his office for kids who came to school without enough to eat.

Eric trained for three months indoors and two months outdoors before embarking on his first cross-Canada ride in support of Food Banks Canada’s After the Bell program.

“The After the Bell program resonates deeply with me because it focuses specifically on kids, making sure children have access to nutritious food when school isn’t in session. That’s where my motivation started.”

After the Bell provides 200,000+ nutritious, child-friendly food packs throughout the summer when school-centred supports are not available. The program fills a vital gap for children, who account for roughly 1 in 3 visits to food banks nationally.

“I think children are the most vulnerable in our society,” Eric says. “It hurts when I think about kids going hungry and not having the energy to play with their friends, to physically and mentally grow.”

The First Ride

Eric travelled 8,150km in just 70 days, beginning his ride in Victoria and ending in St. John’s.

“Every day, I wanted to keep going to see more of Canada and meet more people,” he recalls. “This ride is about using that experience to expand awareness of food insecurity and support both immediate needs and long-term solutions.”

As he travelled from coast to coast, Eric was struck by the importance of food banks in every community he rode through. “When you see that need repeated everywhere, it becomes clear this isn’t a local issue, it’s a national one,” he says.

The consistency of need across the country reaffirmed Eric’s commitment to supporting Food Banks Canada.

“What stands out to me about Food Banks Canada is that they’re not only responding to immediate needs. They’re also building for the future by

strengthening systems, improving logistics, and ensuring food can move efficiently and safely across the country.”

The connections he made along the way encouraged Eric, and he came home feeling determined to continue raising both awareness of food insecurity and much-needed funds for food programming.

“Food banks are under increasing pressure as demand continues to grow across Canada,” he says. “What I saw riding across the country confirmed that this challenge is truly national.”

Building Momentum

Two years after his first journey, Eric is now planning to repeat the cross-Canada ride in support of Food Banks Canada.

“What excites me this time is the opportunity to support change at a systemic level,” he shares. “Food Banks Canada is doing more than reacting to demand. They’re building places like food transformation centres – facilities where food can be handled quickly, efficiently, and safely, with no uncertainty about where essential services will take place.”

Food Banks Canada supports a network of over 5,500 food banks and community organizations serving an estimated 3 million people annually.

Eric is enthusiastic about the potential for more coordination of services coast to coast to coast. “When food is processed and distributed efficiently, every donated dollar goes further because less food is lost, logistics are improved, and scale is achieved across the country,” he says.

He’s maintained his training regimen, cycling long distances in the basement throughout the winter.

“For me, it’s about continuing to use my time and health for something meaningful.”

Looking Forward

When asked about his hopes for his next cross-country ride, Eric reiterates the importance of doing his part to address food insecurity. “Success is knowing I didn’t just repeat something I’d already done, but I helped grow it.”

He’s passionate about partnering with Food Banks Canada to make a difference.

“I’m genuinely excited about this direction, and I’m happy to support this work in any way I can,” Eric says. “Supporting Food Banks Canada means helping people today and investing in solutions that make the system stronger tomorrow.”