A young Lethbridge girl is celebrating her 11th birthday in a unique way. Instead of presents, Payten Kinahan is on a mission to collect 1,111 pounds of food for the Lethbridge Food Bank.
Although this isn’t her first food bank fundraiser, it may be the biggest one yet.
“This is the third year that I’ve done this and the first year I got quite a bit. The second year I barely got anything so I thought, ‘go big or go home,'” Payten said.
It seems to be working, as just over 800 pounds of food has been collected so far.
To top it off, just last month the soon to be 11-year-old was given a Leader’s of Tomorrow award, nominated by her after-school program.
“It really warms your heart that I have such an amazing little person that wants to do such great things for the community,” Payten’s mom, Jennifer Kinahan, said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
READ MORE: Southern Alberta food banks feel pressure of slowing economy
She says they’ve also had lots of help from the community.
“I wasn’t even really prepared for how much food that was, so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go,” Jennifer said. “But the fact that everyone jumped on board, I think we’re going to hit our target no problem.”
On average, the Lethbridge Food Bank hands out 70,000 pounds of food a month.
- What is a halal mortgage? How interest-free home financing works in Canada
- Capital gains changes are ‘really fair,’ Freeland says, as doctors cry foul
- Budget 2024 failed to spark ‘political reboot’ for Liberals, polling suggests
- Tesla’s net income drops 55% in first quarter amid falling global sales
“Right after the Christmas season we do go through a down feel of donations, so this is a time when we do need donations,” Maral Kiani Tari, executive director of the Lethbridge Food Bank, said. “The economy is picking up but we still do see that demand in our clients.”
READ MORE: Food bank visits spike across Canada – in Alberta most of all
It’s a demand Payten is helping to fill.
“There’s so many generous people in this community and she’s definitely going to be an inspiration to a lot of people,” Kiani Tari said.
But she isn’t done yet. Next year, Payten plans on collecting food for her 12th birthday, continuing to help those in need.
Kinahan says they will continue to collect food until Friday. Drop off locations have been set up at Trendsetters Revived, Flaman Fitness and RE/MAX Real Estate.
Comments