Harvest Lunch in London, Ont. reverts to online format on day of mourning for Queen

A graphic advertising for the 3M and United Way Elgin Middlesex Harvest Lunch. (Source: Unit Way Elgin Middlesex/Twitter)

For the third consecutive year, London’s 3M Harvest Lunch will be an online event in support of the United Way Elgin-Middlesex.

Plans were in place for the popular charity event to be held in-person on Sept.19.

However, 3M Canada and the United Way decided to move the event online after the federal government declared a national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.

“Both organizations agreed it would be inappropriate to host the large public celebration that had been planned for that day,” a statement reads.

The London event will pivot back to the online pay-it-forward model experienced in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

People who have already bought tickets to the London 3M Harvest Lunch event will receive an income tax receipt for the full amount of their purchase. And while there will be no in-person London event, people can still buy tickets to “pay it forward”, gifting their lunch to participants at United Way funded partners.

The statement says the pay-it-forward model, “delivered over 6,000 meals to neighbours in need through United Way agencies across our region these past two years when we haven't been able to gather because of the pandemic.”

The St. Thomas Harvest Lunch on Sept. 22 will remain in-person.