Salvation Army starts fall fundraising early with community food drive

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The local branch of the Salvation Army has started its fall fundraising season a few weeks earlier than normal amid a lack of food on its shelves.

According to the charity’s community ministries coordinator Patricia Budgell, the Salvation Army is “running pretty low on food,” so a food drive was launched on September 22nd to top up ahead of the winter season.

“Everybody’s busy over the summer,” Budgell said in an interview on 100.1 Moose FM on Monday, September 22nd. “We do a lot of food drives in the wintertime — the [Fort St. John] Huskies are doing a really big food drive that everybody’s familiar with, but the needs have been greater.”

Donations are being accepted for the food drive until Sunday, September 28th. Specifically, Budgell says the food bank needs nutritious foods like canned soups, fruits and vegetables, toiletries like toothbrushes and bars of soap and children’s snacks for struggling families.

Cash donations and gift cards are also being accepted, and Budgell says local grocery stores often allow the Salvation Army to purchase goods at-cost, letting them stretch a dollar further than the average consumer can.

“If you are able to donate a little bit of cash, we really are able to make every single dime go as far as possible,” she said. “Bulk deals, too — [stores] are very good at letting us know when they have sales coming up, so we can preemptively be ready to buy and stock as efficiently as possible.”

Budgell went on to say the Salvation Army is currently dealing with six to 10 new applicants per week, and with a difficult year for various industries, the food bank needs to be able to support increased demand.

“We’ve been purchasing groceries for a few months now and we’re feeding about 60 people per day,” she said. “Anybody who buys groceries understands that that’s quite the bill, so we’re reaching out to the community for support. Every little bit helps.”

The summer did see some groups make a point to support the food bank, however: Budgell said Sage Creek Oilfield Services donated 100 loaves of bread earlier this month, followed by ConocoPhillips donating an entire butchered cow a few days later.

“We’re able to supply really good quality items for our clients that are coming in in need,” Budgell explained. “That was about 880 pounds of beef, separated into cuts that are easy for larger families and individuals as well.”

In addition to accepting donations at the food bank, representatives from the Salvation Army will be outside the Safeway grocery store from noon until 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 25th accepting donations.

They’ll also collect donations outside the local Save-On-Foods from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, September 26th. Cash donations can also be made on the charity’s website.

The food drive ends on Sunday, September 28th.