It’s a simple way for members of the community to help those in need.
Every September for the past decade, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has organized a food drive in support of the Okotoks Food Bank, but in recent years this initiative has taken on even greater meaning.
Helping the food bank is a noble gesture at any time, but as cost-of-living pressures wreak havoc on household budgets, it’s more imperative to give now than at any time in the recent past. The local food bank has seen an unprecedented demand for its services with usage records being smashed with regularity over the last few years.
The Help Yourself Shelf Program at the Okotoks Food Bank served more clients over the first seven months of last year than it did for the entirety of 2022, yet the demand is up a further 16 per cent this year, with the program averaging 420 visits a week.
The food bank is also up 36 per cent from last year in the number of monthly hampers that it gives out to local families.
This increased demand means food is flying off the shelves, which is where you come in. Church members will be dropping off a bag at every Okotoks home starting today with a request that they be filled with non-perishable items and left on the doorstep for pick-up this Saturday morning.
If you’re in a financial position to offer assistance, please do your part. All you’ve got to do is go to the cupboard or the pantry and pull items off the shelves to fill the bag.
The food bank is doing all it can to meet the needs of a burgeoning client base, but it won’t be able to do that without community members playing their part.
