Members of the Broken Oak team present Salvation Army Captain Peter Kim with a cheque for $11,000, which they made through the sale of their homemade hand sanitizer (Photo: Facebook / Salvation Army)

By Shane Clausing

Food Bank donations

Broken Oak Distilling Company donates $11,000 to Salvation Army Food Bank

Apr 16, 2020 | 4:27 PM

After making hand sanitizer for members of the public, the Broken Oak Distilling Company has donated $11,000 to the Salvation Army Food Bank.

Back in March, the company decided to experiment and create hand sanitizer for people in Grande Prairie and the surrounding area. They did this because hand sanitizer was hard to come by due to shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Captain Peter Kim, with the Salvation Army, says he did not expect the donation from the distilling company.

“I was completely surprised, and I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the community and how this company really just put it forward for the most vulnerable in our community,” said Kim.

The Salvation Army Food Bank has seen donations skyrocket over the last month.

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The $11,000 donation is one of several large donations made to the Food Bank. At the end of March, the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie Dream Home Lottery announced that 50 per cent of their ticket sales in April would be donated to Food Banks in the Peace Region. The Dream Home Lottery has so far raised $78,905 for Food Banks, their goal is to reach $100,000 raised by the end of April.

Kim says that the Grande Prairie Food Bank has now received over $100,000 in donations over the last month since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Kim talked about just how much these donations mean to the most vulnerable.

“That’s a huge impact and we’re so grateful for that. We know that the community wants to support the food bank and we are there support the families that are in need.”

The donations also help not only the Food Bank, but the staff who are working to create food hampers for families and businesses in the community.

“We have been able to purchase food and also purchase supplies like masks and gloves for our frontline workers to protect them and keep them safe as they help others in our community,” said Kim. “Our shelves were getting a little bit low and now we are able to invest those donations back into our community by ordering directly from our supermarkets instead of picking off the shelves.”

The demand for food hampers has grown slightly. On average, the Food Bank normally sends out 12-15 hampers per day. The demand has now grown to about 15-20 hampers per day and Kim expects that demand to grow in the coming months.

Donations to the Food Bank can be made here.