Watch the video above: City-Wide Food Drive in Saskatoon
SASKATOON – People in Saskatoon weren’t just opening up their pantries, they were opening up their hearts for those in need for the ninth annual City-Wide Food Drive.
The generosity of Saskatonians was evident Saturday morning, as brown paper bags full of food were dropped off.
“Every year we really count on our community to come through with donations of nutritious food. Our supplies are running low this time of year, post-Christmas, ” said Deborah Hamp, with the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre.
Every month, the food bank provides service to 12,000 people in the Saskatoon area. Officials say 47 per cent of their clients are children.
“I think the realities of poverty and hunger in our community are very, very serious and I think that it’s really important that people in our community are aware of the depth of that need,” said Hamp.
Listed on the side of the brown bags were nutritious food items recommended by the food bank.
“Hearty soups and stews or chili, baby food, infant formula, canned protein – so canned tuna or peanut butter or salmon – and canned fruit. We also really appreciate donations of whole wheat pasta and sauce,” said Hamp.
Approximately 500 volunteers helped out with Saturday’s drive, bringing donations to nine locations throughout the city.
“It is absolutely amazing and we couldn’t be happier with the community’s response to our food drive,” said Hamp.
The goal of the drive was to raise 75,000 pounds of food.
Food bank officials say donations can still be dropped off at any local grocery store in the coming days.
The total amount collected will be tallied by Monday.
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