Peter Kim at the launch of the Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle fundraiser in 2019 (Photo by Liam Verster)

By Shane Clausing

kettle campaign

Grande Prairie Salvation Army to kick off kettle campaign Friday

Nov 9, 2021 | 12:10 PM

The Salvation Army in Grande Prairie is kicking off its annual kettle campaign on November 12.

The annual campaign typically lasts for six weeks and is an opportunity for the organization to raise money to help support its food bank. The money raised over the course of the campaign usually helps supply the food bank with food for the entire year.

“This is our major fundraiser for the year and what we’re trying to raise is $575,000 for the Salvation Army to continue helping with the food insecurity and helping families in our community,” said Captian Peter Kim with the Grande Prairie Salvation Army.

Volunteers will be stationed at various busy locations throughout the city ringing their bells and encouraging people to donate towards the campaign.

Kim tells EverythingGP, the best way to donate this year is by using cash.

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“We recognize that it is harder to maintain the food supply, so by making sure we have the monetary donation, we are able to buy the specific food that goes into the hampers that most people are asking for and needing. That really helps us ensure people get food security,” he explained.

People will be able to simply tap their debit or credit cards to donate this year and won’t need to have cash on them to do so. Donations can also be made online or by dropping them off at the Salvation Army in Grande Prairie.

Kim adds demand for food bank usage has grown throughout the pandemic.

“We had over 1,361 new families accessing the food bank in 2020,” he stated. “We’ve served out over 6,500 individuals in Grande Prairie and 44 per cent of that was children.”

In partnership with the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre in 2020, the Salvation Army served 27,740 meals to members in the community.

Last year, the Salvation Army had set a $500,000 goal and were able to fundraise that amount two days before Christmas. Weyerhauser stepped up and donated an extra $57,000 to push them over that mark.