Burnaby residents finding a paper bag on their front doorstep this week can use it to help feed the hungry.
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFD) is dropping off more than 38,000 bags in front of homes in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and the North Shore. The food bank would like residents receiving the bags to put nutritious, non-perishable food items in them and then leave the bags on their doorsteps before 9 a.m. on Saturday (Sept. 16) for pickup.
“Unfortunately, of course, we are still serving way too many people,” said GVFB chief executive officer Aart Schuurman Hess. “Many of our members are dependent on the food bank for various reasons. Burnaby and New Westminster we have seen an increase in refugees that have joined our services.”
Last year’s inaugural food drive resulted in 53,000 pounds of food being donated. The 2017 goal is 100,000 pounds. Reaching that target would mean about three weeks of food, said Schuurman Hess. The GVFB has set the lofty goal because Calgary’s annual food drives regularly raise 400,000 pounds. “We think eventually we can catch up on Calgary,” he said.
According to the food bank, the best items for donation are canned fish, canned chicken or turkey, canned black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, whole grains, whole-wheat pasta, and canned vegetables and fruit.
“We’re encouraging people to check the dates as well. There’s a lot of times when food is being donated, of course it’s always given from the heart, but it doesn’t always have the best-before date in mind,” said Schuurman Hess. “Some people like to give food, that’s fine, but then please help us to get the right foods.”
The public can also donate to the food bank directly at www.foodbank.bc.ca/citywide. Each dollar donated can be leveraged by the food bank with its bulk purchasing power to provide $3 worth of food to more than 26,500 individuals who use its service, according to the release. Although direct donation gives the food bank a bigger bang for the buck, food drives like Saturdays are still a big help.
“A lot of people like to give food instead of money, and it’s up to us to build that trust with the community to know we are spending and using their dollars as efficiently and effectively as possible, but there’s still a large group of people that like to give something tangible that they hold in their own hands,” said Schuurman Hess.
As part of Saturday’s event, GFVB volunteers and staff will be collecting food donations at the Save-On-Foods outlet in the Old Orchard Shopping Centre at Kingsway and Willingdon Avenue.
The GVFB runs weekly food banks serving about 1,600 Burnaby residents at South Burnaby United Church (7591 Gray Ave., at Rumble Street) on Mondays, Southside Community Church (7135 Walker Ave., a block east of HighGate Village) on Tuesdays and St. Timothy’s Church (4550 Kitchener St.) on Thursdays.
