Kamloops donates 50,000 pounds of food to Kamloops Food Bank

KAMLOOPS — The 31st Rotary Food Drive took place this weekend, with 50,000 pounds of food and other products were donated by the people in Kamloops to the local food bank. Despite the weather, it was a success.

“[The rain] didn’t stop anybody. It didn’t stop people from donating, it didn’t stop the rotarians from picking it up and certainly didn’t stop the volunteers at the food bank,” said Bernadette Siracky, executive director of the Kamloops Food Bank.

According to Siracky, the food bank has been seeing an increase in demand from every demographic, but one specific group is being impacted by the rising cost of living more acutely.

“Every single basic need is going up. The cost of living is increasing at such a dramatic rate this year that people are struggling to figure out where to get extra dollars. When you are a senior, living on fixed income, there are no extra dollars to get,” she explained.

Siracky said they can’t fix poverty and until a more permanent solution is found, the food bank will keep doing what it can to help the community.

“If the solution to poverty was easy, it would have already happened,” she said. “We need to be here until the solutions are found… because in the meantime, we can’t leave people hungry.”

The products collected during the weekend will help fill the shelves until the Christmas season, when the food bank expects to receive another influx of donations.