Plans for London’s 3M Harvest Lunch to be held in-person for the first time in three years have been dashed.
The United Way Elgin-Middlesex has cancelled the in-person portion of the fundraising event as it falls on the provincial Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.
The Harvest Lunch had been slated for Monday in Victoria Park.
"Both organizations [3M and the United Way] agreed it would be inappropriate to host the large public celebration that had been planned for that day," the United Way said in a statement.
The event will now pivot back to the online "pay-it-forward" model that was created when pandemic restrictions were in place. People can buy a ticket to give their lunch to participants at United Way funded partners. This model delivered more than 6,000 meals to people in need across the region over the past two years.
People who had already bought tickets to the in-person event will be given an income tax receipt for the full amount of their purchase, the United Way said.
The in-person lunch at Horton Farmers’ Market in St. Thomas on September 22 will go ahead as scheduled.