WATCH: Demand for help putting food on the table is high at this time of year but the Langford food bank is struggling to keep up. But there is hope on the horizon, next week brings a student-run food drive its hoped will make a big difference for those in need. Luisa Alvarez reports.
It’s that time of year when having food on the table is the last thing anyone wants to worry about. Unfortunately, that?s not the case for the hundreds of people who rely on the Goldstream Food Bank.
” Once a year we make life, I hope, a little easier and a little happier for many West Shore residents,” said Gayle Ireland a Goldstream food bank volunteer.
But donations are slightly down this year. Even with most of their big donations already in shelves are still only about half full.
” We’ve already been through the truck parade and a couple other events that have helped load us up,” said Cindy Bickford a Goldstream Food Bank volunteer.
With hundreds of hampers to fill, Sharon Willcox says they need all of the help they can get.
Each hamper is filled with items to make a tasty holiday meal along with a bonus for the kids but to accomplish that they need a little extra help. That’s where the 10,000 Tonight Food Drive between Belmont and Royal Bay Secondary Schools comes in.
” We really depend on the ten thousand night to help the community as a whole,” said Bickford.
The food drive is entirely run by students and they have it down to a science. From the planning to the advertising to the sorting of the food.
” There?s a lot of work that goes into it we have a group that?s the main planners and each person has a different job,? said Belmont leadership student Jordyn Waller.
Last year, between both Belmont and Royal Bay, as well as Edward Milne Community School, in Sooke the 10,000 Tonight Food Drive produced more than 17,000 items. This year, they?re hoping to pass that but in order to do that, everybody needs to step up.
? For the entire West Shore, I guess we are looking at 20,000 items. It would be fantastic if we could do 30,000, but that all really depends on the community and alumni coming up to help out because we always, always need drivers and we always need volunteers to help us out,” said Belmont leadership teacher Mandart Chan.
Luisa Alvarez
