A province-wide initiative in support of local food banks was a 鈥渋ncredible success,鈥� said Daniel Bill of the B.C. Thanksgiving Food Drive.
The BCTFD, an initiative to help those who rely on food banks, set a goal of collecting 100,000 pounds of food from neighbourhoods across B.C.
More than 4,500 volunteers visited approximately 150,000 addresses in communities during the first few weeks of September; the local B.C. Thanksgiving Food Drive Collection Day in 91原创 was on Sept. 17.
According to Kano McGregor, the 91原创 BCTFD event involved more than 260 volunteers who performed almost 900 hours of service to the community, visiting 9,278 homes and collecting 14,368 pounds of non-perishable food delivered to the 91原创 Food Bank.
The food drive is sponsored province-wide by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Food Banks British Columbia, and is supported by more than 20 local and regional community partners. The 91原创 event was supported by Leavitt Machinery, Coastal Insurance, Investor鈥檚 Group, Allegra Printing and Starpak.
In addition to the volunteers, facilities, and transportation and other services they provided, these groups also contributed more than $24,000 in material and financial support to local operations.
Across the province, BCTFD volunteers collected an estimated 247,600 pounds of food for more than 30 local food banks this year. The total value of all financial and material support raised for this purpose exceeded $670,000.
Organizers expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed their time, talent, and means to the project.
More than half of all households that rely on food banks are families with children, and half of these are headed by single parents. Nearly 40 per cent of recipients of food bank assistance are under the age of 18. Other vulnerable groups include low-wage earners, those with inadequate employment, and people on disability assistance.
BCTFD is a non-denominational, community-focused project open to all interested individuals, community groups, religious organizations, businesses, and others who wish to lend a hand in attending to the needs of the In order to protect their communities against fraud, BCTFD volunteers do not solicit or accept cash donations while engaged in neighborhood collections.
For more, visit the bctfooddrive.org.
