36th annual spring food drive comes with goodness, and challenge
The London Food Bank spring drive kicks off Friday and runs until April 10 — and the need has never been higher, according to co-executive director Jane Roy.
“Now we're seeing 5,000 families a month. That's up 40 per cent over where it was last year. So when we're throwing out those numbers, those are families,” she said. “Those are individuals that need assistance.”
The kick off began with a group of young people between 11 and 13 called the “Goodness Angels.” Many of them have come to Canada from Syria and Turkey, this was the first donation of the drive.
“We dropped off brown paper bags at people's doors with, like little instructions on them. And then like three to four days later, we went and picked them up and then came here and donated it and stuff,” Melike Akin said of the multi-month effort to collect and donate roughly 2,000 pounds of food.
The act of the Goodness Angels is a form of paying it forward, as many came to Canada with their families at a young age and received help from the food bank.
“When I first came to Canada, the London Food Bank helped me and my family a lot because we didn't really know what to do. And now that I’m older and I’m in like a different position in my life than I was six years ago, now I want to help them back,” said Akin.
With the food bank seeing continuous influx of new families in need, co-executive director Glen Pearson said something needs to be done before it's unsustainable.
“This won't go on much longer. Food banks across the country are beginning to fail or beginning to ration. We're fortunate in London that we're still going, but you can't keep seeing things climb to this degree and not get involved as policymakers, politicians, people that are in bureaucracies,” he explained.
Pearson challenged decision makers re-ignite efforts that started a decade ago to make food more available, but those reports were never implemented.
"It's time to bring that group back together with policymakers and say, ‘How could we make it?’ This isn't about helping hungry families. This is about better food and cheaper food in London for everybody. And that's what the design of those things was. So I’m really challenging those groups to come back together, including us as a food bank,” he said.
Paper bags can be found at area grocery stores throughout Easter weekend, along with drop off locations. Perishable items can still be donated directly to the food bank.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.