Every year the Ottawa Food Bank provides assistance to families in need in our nation’s capital; this year was no exception. During its 2011-2012 annual Holiday Food Drive, the Ottawa Food Bank collaborated with 430 local organizations to collect canned goods, 50 more than the 2010-2011 campaign. In addition, many organizations organized their own fundraising events and separate food drives to assist the Ottawa Food Bank in their efforts this season, including Hot 89.9 FM, OC Transpo and CTV Morning Live.
The Ottawa Food Bank is proud to announce that the Holiday Food Drive’s grand total for this year is 276,000 pounds of food and over $60,000 in donations; this is an increase of 36,000 pounds of food collected last year. “Our warehouse team was astonished by the amount of food that was being brought into the warehouse throughout the campaign,” said Maggie Rose, Event Coordinator at the Ottawa Food Bank. “We are so thankful to all the businesses and organizations that organized a food drive or held a fundraiser this Holiday season and helped us break a new Holiday Food Drive record.” When combining the amount of food collected and funds raised, the Holiday Food Drive is the Ottawa Food Bank’s biggest food drive of the year. Because of Ottawa’s commitment to help hungry members of its community, 45,000 individuals will benefit from the Ottawa Food Bank every month.
The Ottawa Food Bank not only depends on the donations of the community, they rely heavily on the work of volunteers, especially during their busy season. During the holidays, the Ottawa Food Bank welcomes around 40 volunteers a day, 5 days a week. “During the 2010/2011 fiscal year, our volunteers totalled nearly 24,700 hours of work,” said Rose. “This amount of hours equals to the number of hours of almost 13 full-time employees!” Although the Ottawa Food Bank has a staff of 20 employees, the volume of work is so heavy during the large food drives that it could not get done otherwise. Volunteers do everything from sorting food to helping at fundraising events. The work of volunteers is crucial to the successful operation of the Holiday Food Drive. “The overwhelming number of food drive pick-ups would not be possible without the help of all these volunteers,” explained Rose.
Year-round, the Ottawa Food Bank focuses on collecting and distributing food to its member agencies, who serve people in need in the Ottawa area. To collect the necessary food and funds to fulfill their mission, a number of events are organized every year, including the Holiday Food Drive, as well as Food Aid and Lunch Money Day.
Interested in helping the Ottawa Food Bank in 2012? There are many ways that you can help. Food can be donated in the red bins, found in local grocery stores. You can organize your own food drive or fundraising event. The Ottawa Food Bank also accepts donations through their website and they are always looking for volunteers to help out in their warehouse and for special events. For more information, visit the Ottawa Food Bank’s website.
