With fall just around the corner, organizers of the annual B.C. Thanksgiving Food Drive are gearing up for another massive collection.
The B.C.-wide food drive will go Sept. 11 to 15 across B.C., including here in the Central Okanagan.
Hundreds of volunteers will leave shopping bags on doorsteps across the community and residents will be asked to fill them with food donations for local food banks. The bags will then be collected.
Organizers say food donated in any given community will stay in that community. Last year, 94,000 pounds of food were collected in the food drive in the Central Okanagan.
Recent statistics show more than 7,000 pounds of food is needed daily at the Kelowna Food Bank to help address current needs.
The Central Okanagan Food Bank in Kelowna recently moved into a new, larger space that allows it to offer its clients what it described as a grocery store-style experience when selecting food for their hamper.
The B.C. Thanksgiving Food Drive will also help other local food banks in the area, such as the ones in West Kelowna, Lake Country and Peachland.
In addition to actual food donations in the bags, the food drive also allows for “virtual” donations via the Central Okanagan Food Bank’s website.
There, donors can select items for a grocery hamper and make a financial donation to pay for the selected items. The food bank will then go out and get the items for the donation.
Last year in Kelowna, because not all doors could be reached by volunteers dropping off donation bags, donation drop-off spots were set up at grocery stores during the campaign for those who wanted to donate but did not receive a bag.
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