Volunteers from the “Porch Pirates for Good” will be scouring Peterborough on Halloween Eve in support of Kawartha Food Share.
The city-wide food drive will be held on Saturday, Oct. 30, beginning at 9 a.m. Residents are asked to leave a bag of non-perishable food items or hygiene products on their front porch or at a prominent location outside their home.
Volunteers will be driving around the city to collect the items and deliver them to the food bank’s warehouse. The food bank serves on average 8,700 each month in the city and Peterborough County. Approximately 35 per cent of users are under the age of 18.
All 51 schools in the region access Kawartha Food Share to help with their breakfast and nutrition programs, feeding more than 17,000 children daily.
“Roughly one-quarter of food bank users are a mix of post-secondary students, pensioners, and the working poor, many of whom are only able to find part-time work in this community,” Kawartha Food Share said.
“The pandemic has caused precarious workers to lose hours and rely on food banks for support more frequently.”
According to Kawartha Food Share, supplies are currently low and shelves need to be restocked, especially with a 20 per cent increase in use throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the items needed include:
- canned tuna
- pasta and pasta sauce
- Alpha-getti, Kraft Dinner and Chef Boyardee
- breakfast cereal
- peanut Butter
- any non-perishable fruit and vegetable items
- rice
- canned soup/stew
- feminine hygiene products
- baby formula
- diapers
This year, the target for donations is 50,000 pounds of food collected. Monetary donations to Kawartha Food Share can be made at kawarthafoodshare.com/donations.html
“For every dollar donated, Kawartha Food Share leverages $6 of food purchasing power,” the food bank said.
Businesses are encouraged to challenge each other to see which can donate the most items during a special food drive on Friday, Oct. 29, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. To register in the challenge, email Susan Dunkley at susan@suzihomemaker.ca or call 705-768-7894.
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