London Food Bank wraps up Spring Food Drive with slight decline in donations

The London Food Bank is wrapping up its Spring Food Drive and is calling this year's effort a success. However, the numbers aren't much of an improvement on previous campaigns.

"We're down a little bit in food, and we're up a little bit in money so overall it ends up being down a little bit just due to the fact that the food evaluation has gone up," explained Jane Roy, co-director of the food bank.

Despite the impact of inflation on donations, Roy said they are actually really pleased the public came out and supported those in need.

"This is what one can one bag looks like when we all participate and we all just do a little bit,” said Roy as she pointed to skids full of donations from this year’s Spring Food Drive.

As of Monday morning, 48,744 lbs of food and $81,242 in cash donations had been collected.

But with the cost of food being $3.52 a pound, that puts this year’s total so far below last year’s numbers.

With food insecurity on the rise, London Food Bank’s services are being used by more people than ever before and another accumulating cost is now boxes.

"When we first started the food bank, we didn’t pay for boxes or bags or anything like that. But obviously with the changes that have come, and the fact that we're so busy," explained Roy.

Over at the St. Thomas Elgin Food Bank, they have gone green.

"We fill carts like grocery carts, and when our clients have pre-ordered, we just take them down a little ramp and they in turn put them into their reusable bags or into their grocery bins that they may have," said Manager of Public Relations and Administration of the St. Thomas Elgin Food Bank, Karen M. McDade.

The London Food Bank serves more than 5,200 families per month, and ask users to bring their own boxes and bags if possible.

During the Spring Food Drive, the food bank collects food donations with donation bags available at grocery stores. The drive ran from Good Friday until April 1 this year.

"People come to the food bank as a year round thing, so when it comes to giving, now most of the grocery stores continue to have those bins,” said Roy.