The 7th Annual BC Thanksgiving Food Drive begins September 11-16 in the Okanagan and organizers say the need is greater than ever.
Food Drive spoksperson Gordon Oliver says the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank distributes 9,000 pounds of food every day, up from 7,000 last year.
"And because of the disasters that are occurring around us, donations haven't reached what they have in previous years and that's why the need is so great in the Central Okanagan," he says.
Food Bank Director Lenetta Parry says starting next Monday (Sept 11) - volunteers will deliver flyers with donation bags to various homes in Kelowna and West Kelowna. Simply fill the bag with non-perishable food items and leave it on your doorstep for pick-up on Saturday, September 16th,
"We've set a pretty lofty goal of 150,000 pounds this year, and that's to offset the lower donations that we saw over the summer. Typically in the summer, we see about 200,000 pounds of food come in, but this year we've seen about 100,000 pounds of food come in," she says.
Oliver says they've expanded the drive into more neighbourhoods this year.
"Last year we had about 800 volunteers, and this year I think we're at about a 1,000 - maybe a little more - and we're scouring more locations. We're also getting corporate partners like Save On Foods and Costco that are allowing us to put drop-off bins at their locations," he says.
(L to R: Gordon Oliver, Public Affairs Director BC Thanksgiving Food Drive; Lenetta Parry, Executive Director Central Okanagan Food Bank; Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran; West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater)
Volunteers will be hand collecting donations at Save on Foods, Orchard Plaza and West Kelowna and Costco on Saturday, September 16th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran has proclaimed the 16th as BC Thanksgiving Food Drive Day in support of the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank.
For more information visit bctfooddrive.org