More than 42,500 lbs of donations were collected for Langley food banks as part of the annual BC Thanksgiving food drive.
It’s also 8,000 lbs more than last year’s total.
“We are very happy with the outcome,” said Teresa Griffiths, manager of supported living services at Inclusion Langley.
Inclusion Langley and volunteers distributed thousands of bags to residences, which were collected on Sept. 23 filled with non-perishable food items.
It also held a drive-thru donation drop-off event on Sept. 22, where staff and community members could drop-off non-perishable food items and unexpired foods.
“In the past, [the food drive] has taken us with the food collected into February of the following year. That is key this year as we have many more people coming for help,” said Jim Calamunce, executive director of the Langley Food Bank.
Corina Carroll, executive director of Sources Food Bank, said the donations help “now more than ever” as everyone is struggling to make ends meet.
“For some, this means facing food insecurity. Each week we welcome new visitors to our food banks, but sadly each week we also see declines in monetary and food donations,” she said.
However, like the Langley Food Bank, the Thanksgiving food drive helps Sources secure some stock for its inventory.
“We encourage the community to continue the momentum, collect donations of food or money, and give to your local food bank,” Carroll concluded.
The provincial food drive has been taking place since 2008, but the need has increased significantly in recent years.
Griffiths said Inclusion Langley is also making plans for a toy drive in early December.
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