Many families across the Grande Prairie area won’t have to worry about feeding their households for a while, thanks to the collaboration and support of the community. The annual Rotary Community Food Bank Drive for the Salvation Army Food Bank closed with over $100,000 raised to help families in need. Differing from the normally held annual food drive, this time around Rotary went fully online, due to ongoing COVID-19 health and safety concerns.
Lori Pollock with the Swan City Rotary Club says the team was hard pressed to establish a set goal to have in mind, though whatever they could raise is a step in the right direction. Pollock did not state an exact goal Rotary aimed to reach.
“What we did is we just worked with the Salvation Army and we understood what their current need and demand is, and based on the 20 to 25 hampers a day, that just calculated out to being the goal that we set,” she says. “We are thrilled at what we were able to raise; anything that we raised was more then they had, and another hamper they could put together.”
Pollock estimates the money raised over the course of the campaign, coupled with the existing demand, should last for roughly eight to 10 weeks. She adds, despite the food drive having concluded, there are still a host of organizations gearing up to help out and continue finding ways to donate.
“There were a lot of really creative organizations and individuals who have come up with other ways to raise funds,” she says.
TJ Ruckus, a band local to Grande Prairie, is hosting on online Live Sound Stage event on October 17th, with all funds going to the food bank. During the month of October, one dollar from every Swan City Rotary Club Cars for Christmas Lottery ticket sold will go to eight regional food banks to help provide food security to those in need. The overall goal is to raise $75,000.
“We recognize the need is great right now, we recognize lots are struggling so we’re just really appreciative of how our community comes together to help our neighbors,” she says.
Pollock adds, throughout the campaign, many from the community would also find alternative ways to donate, such as businesses offering a percentage of their sales or offering to collect donations on Rotary’s behalf. Donations are accepted year-round at the local Salvation Army Family and Community Services location.