As Canadian and U.S. providers seek to end the stigma around cannabis usage, companies across the industry have taken a variety of paths towards more widespread name recognition and acceptance. While some are frequently appearing at major North American business conferences, others are looking towards patient outreach campaigns or even charitable donations. 

On that front, western Quebec-based HEXO Corp (TSX: HEXO; NYSE-A: HEXO) just made a donation for a food bank organization to supply fresh fruits and vegetables to people in the Outaouais region. 

HEXO today announced the $20,000 donation to Moisson Outaouais, which provides food for both local community members and victims of disasters such as floods and tornadoes. This contribution follows another from last year when HEXO initially donated $5,000 in late 2018. 

The company’s VP of Corporate Social Responsibility Terry Lake commented on HEXO’s decision to support Moisson Outaouais: 

The mission of this non-profit organization is in perfect harmony with our own commitment to caring for people, one of the 4 priorities of our corporate social responsibility charter. Food aid has a direct impact on people’s quality of life and we are happy to be able to contribute.

With many licensed producers in Canada focusing on relief for medical patients in addition to recreational usage, the relationship between charitable organizations and cannabis companies has been strongly highlighted in recent months. 

Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE: CURA; OTCQX: CURLF) for instance partnered with a veteran’s advocacy group back in March. That partnership will see Curaleaf donating profits from a new line of pre-rolled products to the Veterans Cannabis Project, in addition to highlighting veteran’s health issues by displaying veteran-crafted artwork at dispensary locations. 

In other HEXO news, the company recently announced plans to acquire Newstrike Brands Ltd. (TSX-V: HIP). That agreement was just given the green light by the Canadian Competition Bureau through the release of a no-action letter. 

The acquisition deal will move forward and close at the end of the month if approved by Newstrike shareholders at an upcoming special meeting to take place on May 17. 

In addition to that planned acquisition, last month HEXO also completed a first harvest at the company’s newly completed 1,000,000 sq. ft. greenhouse located in Gatineau. 

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