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Food Bank receives $2k donation from local business

With the new school year almost upon us, the Stettler and District Food Bank received a generous donation of $2,000 from Wells Furniture.
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Betty Birch

With the new school year almost upon us, the Stettler and District Food Bank received a generous donation of $2,000 from Wells Furniture on Thursday, Aug. 11.

"We depend on donations only and have been fortunate to have great support from many businesses, organizations and individuals that keep us in business," said Betty Birch, president of Stettler and District Food Bank. "Each month we pay a grocery bill of about $6,000–$8,000."

Birch said that they were serving about 400 people each month.

"Out of those about 40 per cent are children," added Birch. "In June we had 20 new people register with the Food Bank."

Birch said that the food that the organization provides is only a supplement and often does not meet the needs of a family for the entire month.

"We are harvesting vegetables from the community garden each week, and are able to accept small amounts of fresh produce, although we do not have a lot of storage space," continued Birch. "It takes about 15 different volunteers each week to operate the facility, stock shelves, purchase and pick up groceries and donations."

According to Birch, canned fruit, canned meat, peanut butter and cheese spread are always in demand, besides cereal, school snacks, pasta and pasta sauce.

"We are most grateful for donations of cash or groceries," said Birch. "We are a registered charity and will issue receipts for financial donations."

The Food Bank is open Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Wednesday evenings for those who might want to avail of its resources.

Families with children can access the Food Bank twice each month, while adult only households are able to come only once a month.