London Food Bank launches 35th annual Thanksgiving Food Drive

The London Food Bank is launching their 2023 Thanksgiving Food Drive as demand for its services continues to increase across the region.

“We’re up almost 90 per cent in two years,” says Glen Pearson, co-executive director of the London Food Bank. “The numbers are massive. Every day is a record here.”

According to the food bank, approximately 13,265 different households – over 31,500 individuals – have used their services at least once in 2023.

“By the end of the year, that’ll be close to 40,000,” said Jane Roy, co-executive director of the London Food Bank. “That would basically be 10 per cent of the population relying on assistance.”

A total of 4,510 families also visited the London Food Bank for the first time this year, marking 34 per cent of the total households served in 2023, and up from 2,596 families in 2022.

Over 113,000 Ibs of food was collected during the 2022 Thanksgiving Food Drive, said Roy, including over $114,400 in donations.

“Over the pandemic, we were asking for monetary donations to help support the food bank. Now we’re back to the kind of the traditional food drive where we’re looking for people to support us through food donations.”

While no official goal has been set for this year’s campaign, the food bank said that 60 per cent of the donations raised will be given to other agencies. 40 per cent will be distributed through the London Food Bank directly.

“We’ve probably had 15 requests since the start of September from other groups who have their own food cupboards that are seeking help from the food bank,” Pearson said. “What’s happening is the city’s food security system is beginning to collapse.”

He added that following the closure of other community food banks in the region, “there’s not enough food in the system to be able to meet with the demand that’s there.”

In marking their 150th anniversary this year, the London and District Construction Association (LDCA) also announced on Thursday that they would be creating “something new” for the region to go along with their annual donation to the food bank.

Come next spring, the LDCA is looking to open a “farm in a box” created out of recycled shipping containers to grow an array of produce for the London Food Bank.

“It’s very efficient,” said Mike Carter, executive director of the LDCA, referencing similar controlled environment farming structures found in other communities.

“You can collect your leafy greens probably 24 times a year so there is a constant flow of high nutritious food that can be available for folks who need it,” he added.

He added that “growing its own food, pretty soon our numbers for people who are desperate don’t increase anymore. There’s food out there, there’s food in here, let’s just grow it and that way we don’t have to depend on donations all the time to make it happen.”

In light of this years campaign, which runs from Friday to Oct. 9th, Pearson asks the community to “donate, but also debate new ideas as to how we can increase food security in London.”

More information about the 2023 Thanksgiving Food Drive can be found here.