As the autumn gets closer, so too does that annual appeal to help others in the community.
The 7th annual Hope B.C. Thanksgiving Food Drive is in full gear, helping to ensure that fewer people go hungry through the Thanksgiving season. Very soon, volunteers will be dropping paper bags off at your doorstep, to be filled with canned food donations.
During the last six food drives, Hope has been one of the leaders in the province for the amount donated per capita. They are hoping to continue that trend, and are looking for both donations and volunteers.
The volunteers will still be going door to door, on Sat. Sept. 25, and will be picking up bags of non-perishable items. All items and donated funds stay within Hope.
But they are also asking that people really consider giving financial donations this year, if possible. The food bank is able to use funds to purchase items at wholesale or discounted, to help stretch every dollar further. It also helps eliminate the need to throw away expired foods, and the associated costs of that.
It also usually takes days for several volunteers to sort and stock food, and they are hoping to cut back on that to keep volunteers safe.
Still, food donations are happily accepted. The volunteers won’t be knocking on doors, so leave bags outside your front door to be picked up.
To make a cash donation, visit hopecommunityservices.com and follow the link for “Donate Today.”
The food drive is run without overhead, entirely by volunteers, individuals, organizations and businesses who donate their time, energy and resources. If you can spare a few hours to volunteer, call Ron at 604-377-4377 or Jim at 604-845-1491.
The BC Thanksgiving Food Drive began in 2009 in the city of Burnaby to assist the local food bank. It has now expanded province wide and is able to assist dozens of community food banks serving over 50 cities and many thousands of needy individuals and families throughout British Columbia.
In B.C., more than 100,000 people turn to local food banks each year in order to acquire the sustenance they need. Those who do, come from the most vulnerable segments of our communities. Over half of all households that rely on food banks are families with children; half of these are headed by single parents. In total, almost 40 per cent of recipients of food bank assistance are under the age of 18. Other vulnerable groups include low wage earners, those with inadequate employment, and people on disability income assistance.
Yearly, over half a million pounds of food is collected with an estimated value of $1.3 million, essentially all in one day.
READ MORE: 10 facts about the unsung hero of Thanksgiving
@CHWKcommunity
jessica.peters@abbynews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation here.
