By Drew HasselbackGlobal NewsPosted September 22, 2024 3:59 pm1 min readCalgarians came out in force on Saturday to donate during Calgary Food Bank’s city-wide collection drive. Global NewsGroups of volunteers worked Saturday to unload re-useable bags filled with donations in support of the Calgary Food Bank.As part of a city-wide food drive, the event goes a long way in ensuring the food bank has enough supplies to last through the fall.Melissa From, president and CEO of the Calgary Food Bank, said every year she’s blown away by the support the organization receives.“Last year, I think we were just shy of half a million pounds,” From said. “We’d really love to break that record and be over that half-a-million-pound mark this year.”Get daily National newsGet the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.Since the pandemic, more and more Calgarians are using the food bank on a daily basis, which means food drives like Saturday’s are becoming more and more important.“Food that would be collected from an initiative like this would last us well through the year,” From said. “The reality is that when you’re feeding over 750 households a day, it doesn’t last quite as long.”Trending NowStory continues below advertisementFrom September 2023 to June 2024, the food bank received over 9.7 million pounds of food donations, including over 55,000 pounds of non-food donations such as diapers and hygiene products.If you missed the opportunity to donate on Saturday, From said the food bank also accepts donations online, which helps it support those in need year-round.“Every dollar donated to the Calgary Food Bank allows us to distribute $3.50 worth of food,” From said. “So those dollars can go a really long way.”© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Sponsored content
20 years of giving: Residents fill bags for Calgary Food Bank’s 2024 collection drive
