Fort McMurray food bank to run first full food drive in 2 years this weekend
CBC
The Wood Buffalo Food Bank Association is running its first full food drive in two years, as pandemic restrictions ease and the need for donations increases.
The food bank, located in Fort McMurray, hands out about 600 hampers and serves about 30 to 40 new clients every month. But donations are a bit low, said executive director Dan Edwards.
The food drive, which runs from Nov. 25-28, is expected to bring an influx of cash and food.
"We are consistently full and still seeing new folks needing assistance each month," said Edwards.
"We're really excited to be able to get that event happening."
He added that the lower amount of donations could be due to a number of factors, such as people staying at home.
The food drive will be set up as normal, with a truck outside the grocery store and a group of cohort volunteers asking for and collecting donations, Edwards said.
The food bank is working with Alberta Health Services to make sure the event is run safely.
The goal is to raise $300,000 and collect 80,000 pounds of food.
The food bank ran a food drive last year, but the volunteers didn't talk to people or hand out lists of needed items. As a result, the food drive only collected 8,000 pounds of food.
Having people at the grocery stores asking for donations helps because "putting faces to an organisation always makes a difference," said Linda Mywaart, a food bank volunteer for about 10 years.
"Being out there in person gives us the opportunity to highlight how the need has increased," said Mywaart.
"I hope that the community will step up this weekend and meet that need."
Volunteer spots filled quickly for this weekend's food drive, Edwards said. This is good because they "make the weekend."
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