It's time to fill a bag - with brotherly love

There are some who say foodbanks are not the answer. We who operate the foodbanks tend to agree, for the most part. Handouts of the bare grocery essentials, every two weeks, will not lift a family out of poverty. But they might help someone to bridge the gap between pay cheques, while gas, food and housing prices soar astronomically for the first time in a generation.

Wages just aren’t keeping up. And in a small town, there are few jobs that actually pay a living wage. Everything else needs to be supplemented. That’s where the foodbank comes in. Many of our clientele pop in to pick up their box of groceries right after work. They are still in uniform or dressed for work. Some are in the trades, with unsteady paycheques. Most just don’t make enough.

I was surprised to learn that there is no regular government funding for foodbanks in Canada. There are partnerships, and our local foodbank is lucky to have formed one with our own municipality of North Grenville in the last budget cycle. Our foodbank will receive funding to cover approximately one of operating expenses ($25,000) from the town for each of the next four years. We have to depend on the community to help cover the other eleven months of the year.

We have many generous local businesses and individuals who make regular financial donations to the foodbank, through www.salvationist.ca  Others drop off cash at the Salvation Army thrift store on Rideau Street in Kemptville, where we are able to divert funds to the foodbank. If you have made a donation, let us know by emailing: kemptvillesalvationarmy@gmail.com. That way we can ensure that your donation goes where you want it to. That is also the email to use if you have free time this month to assist with the massive Fill-a-Bag campaign. We need drivers and helpers to drop off paper bags at local residences, pick up the filled bags, and sort the contents back at the foodbank.

Watch for your paper bag to arrive on Sunday, November 20^th. Take a look at the list printed on the side of the bag and consider making a donation to your local foodbank. Whether it’s dried or canned goods, bathroom supplies or pet food, the 100 families that we are currently serving in North Grenville will definitely appreciate it. We can even accept food that has gone past its ‘best before’ date in the last year, in most cases. Put your bag outside on the 27^th and our volunteers will swing by to pick it up.

Thank you for sharing with your neighbour, and putting a little love in the bag.

-30-