An Island food bank hopes to raise half-a-million dollars to make it through the holidays.
Loaves & Fishes Food Bank serves 44 communities and 16 indigenous communities across Vancouver Island, with a facility located in Port Hardy. Through that facility, they serve six days a week for Port Hardy, three days a week for Port McNeill, and once a month for Woss and Port Alice.
Director of Development Abby Sauchuk says the need is extremely high for the North Island, leading to shipments of food being sent from Nanaimo.
“If you compare numbers from 2020 to 2024, the number of people accessing our free food markets across the Island has increased by 94 percent,” said Sauchuk.
“The good news is, is because of the support of the community that we need, we are still able to provide over five dollars’ worth of food for every one-dollar donation.”
Sauchuk says compared to last year, the need has gone up by 37 percent.
Because of the rising need, the bank needs to raise $500,000 to keep up for the month of December and onto the new year.
She says to get to that goal, they need people to donate online because of the Canada Post strike.
“We should be buried in envelopes right now but we’re not,” said Sauchuk.
“That is a big issue this time of year because we really focus on December as the time of year to increase our donation revenue enough to keep the free food market open. We’re gonna need people to donate online, and they will be able to get an automatic tax receipt.”
She says they have so far raised $12,000 of the $500,000 goal.
To donate online, the portal is VIloaves&fishes.org.
