The food bank is hoping its community pardners will giddyup to Royal City Centre with a few dollars and help it lasso in some food.
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society will be in New West today to promote National Hunger Awareness Week. Representatives will be located outside Royal City Centre, at Sixth and Sixth, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We have a spaghetti western theme – it’s a theme around our most wanted items. We will be dressing up in all sort of mustaches and hats and that sort of thing,” said Greg Dawson, communications officer. “The idea is to raise awareness around the issue of hunger across the country and In New West. It’s also to share and start talking about some of the most wanted items we are after.”
The society operates food banks in New Westminster, Burnaby, Vancouver and the North Shore. As part of National Hunger Awareness Week, which is Sept. 21 to 25, the Greater Vancouver Food Bank is saddling up and hitting the road for three Spaghetti Western-themed events to kick off its crucial fundraising season.
“The next three months is huge for us in terms of donations. We get about 70 per cent of what we get all year round,” Dawson told the Record. “It’s really important to start sharing that information about the type of donations that have an impact, the kinds of things that can have a positive impact on people’s diets.”
Today’s food and fund drive events includes games, information and a photo booth.
“We want everyone to come out and have some fun, but also take away some new information about the challenges people face and how we can help,” said Aart Schuurman Hess, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
According to the society, about 26,500 people access its services each week - more than would fill the Rogers Arena, and the Orpheum and Vogue theatres combined. One in five is a child.
“We have created our Most Wanted items list to help guide people towards having the biggest impact possible in their community,” Hess said. “We are asking for food items that are high in protein, whole grain, lower sodium (salt) and lower sugar. These are familiar, basic shelf items that provide choice and flexibility.”
The food bank’s most wanted items are: canned fish or meats; canned beans, kidney, black bean, chickpeas; 100 per cent nut butters; pasta and rice; canned vegetables, including all pasta sauces; canned fruit, packed in its own juice or water; whole grain breakfast cereals; and hearty soups, stews and chili.
For more information on the food bank’s Hunger Awareness Week activities, call 604-876-3601.
Hunger Awareness Week was created to provide food banks with an opportunity to educate about the reality of hunger in Canada and to encourage all Canadians to make a choice to help those in need. According to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, nearly 850,000 individuals turn to food banks for support each month, and close to four million Canadians are food insecure, struggling with not knowing where their next meal may come from. Today, more than 800 food banks and 2,900 affiliated agencies work in communities across the country to assist Canadians in need.
