Photo: Salvation Army Grande Prairie and Area / Facebook

By Shaun Penner

Online "Shopping"

Rotary Community Food Bank Drive going virtual with online store

Sep 5, 2020 | 6:00 AM

The Rotary Community Food Bank Drive is pushing ahead with its annual campaign in support of the Grande Prairie and Area Salvation Army Community Food Bank, with this year’s campaign going virtual for the first time in its nearly 30-year history.

A typical year would see volunteers go door-to-door to canvass for donations one day in September. However, amid the ongoing pandemic, the Rotary Clubs of Grande Prairie has created an online “store”, where folks can purchase items that are most in need and most popular at the Food Bank.

“And we’ve tried to pick something at every price point,” said Lori Pollack, the co-chair of the event. “Because like any other time we’ve done the annual Food Bank Drive, it doesn’t matter how much. We’re just grateful for everything anyone can give.”

Pollack says the 2019 campaign brought in 47 tonnes of food within three hours for the Salvation Army, an organization that served over 30,000 meals and provided over 4,000 hampers to those in need.

That need has only increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, for which the Rotary Club donated over $250,000 to area Food Banks from tickets purchased for the 2020 Rotary Dream Home Lottery in the month of April.

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Pollack is hoping that same level of generosity they saw from the community back in April, and in previous food drives, will come through again.

“I think anyone who has ever been involved with the Food Bank Drive has found it to be an incredible, I call it a humbling experience, because it is amazing how generous our community is.”

She adds that from what she has heard from Captain Peter Kim with the Grande Prairie and Area Salvation Army, this annual campaign draws admiration from other food banks from across Alberta.

“When he has spoken with other food bank areas, (he hears) this is a one-of-a-kind drive. The largest of its kind,” said Pollack. “Per capita, Grande Prairie and area are by far the most generous.”

The campaign is slated to run from September 10-15. The online store can be found under the “donate now” tab at gpfooddrive.ca.