Advertisement

Food Bank Friday: Vernon, B.C. Salvation Army Food Bank meets growing need

Hampers being packed at the Vernon Salvation Army. Sydney Morton / Global News

When asked to sum up this last year at the Vernon,B.C., Salvation Army Food Bank, you’ll get one word.

“It would be ‘pivot,'” said Neil Thompson, Vernon Salvation Army.

“We have to pivot almost every couple of months to accommodate the new changing realities of our world.

“The recent floods [that] have caused the supply chain issues and the panic buying has caused less and less of the food recovery coming to our door, for us to feed people with.”

Thompson and his team are no strangers to the growing demand as they continue to put nutritious meals on the tables of those who need a little extra help.

Story continues below advertisement
“We’ve seen a 27 per cent [increase of] new families to services that I’ve never accessed before, which is a significant increase,” said Thompson.

“People come through our doors of all different social classes that have never found themselves in financial need before.”

Now, as they prepare for the busy holiday season, they are expecting to give out more than 500 holiday hampers as well as open up their toy room at the Vernon Salvation Army Thrift store to make sure every child wakes up to something special under the tree on Christmas Day.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

To make all of these Christmas miracles happen, they are in need of monetary donations.

Story continues below advertisement

“The more monetary donations that we can get this time of year, the better,” said Thompson.

“We get a lot of donations with the non-perishables but if you donate monetarily we can purchase fresh stuff like milk and meat.”

You can help support local food banks like the Princeton Food Bank by donating to our Global Okanagan Your Okanagan Calendar Campaign.

You can donate in the following ways:

Online:

Through Food Banks BC.

By visiting this website, you will be directed to make a donation to the bank in your area.

Food Banks BC will send your tax receipt directly to your email once your donation is complete.

By mail:

Send a cheque made to the Food Bank of your choice to:

Global Okanagan, 342 Leon Ave., Kelowna, B.C., V1Y 6J2

In person:

At the Global Okanagan office at 342 Leon Ave., in Kelowna. We accept cash, cheque, credit or debit.

Story continues below advertisement

By phone:

Call our receptionist at 250-762-4535 or 1-888-762-4535 to pay by credit card.

When you donate online, by phone or by mail, we will mail your calendar(s) to you. Expect that they will take 10 to 14 days to arrive.

Please make a donation to the food bank of your choice in the Okanagan. Only donations of $30 and greater per calendar are eligible for a tax receipt.

Tax receipts for donations sent by mail, phone or in person will be receipted by the food bank you donated to. They will not be sent until the end of the campaign, which is Dec. 31, 2021.

Calendars will be available while quantities last.

This fundraiser is a collaborative effort between Global Okanagan and their partners.

— with files from Doyle Potenteau

Click to play video: 'Animal Food Bank supported by B.C. pet food company amid floods'
Animal Food Bank supported by B.C. pet food company amid floods

Sponsored content

AdChoices