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Food bank seeking more support with onset of the holiday season

Staff are grateful for the help consistently shown for Stettler citizens
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Heading into the Christmas season, volunteers at the Stettler Food Bank are seeking additional support via donations and volunteer help.

That’s not to say the community hasn’t stepped up in very generous ways over the past while, but with a steady demand for services it’s good to put out the call for a consistent flow of support, said Betty Birch, the Food Bank’s president.

“People and organizations do start to make donations through events or Christmas parties for example. We really appreciate it if they can give us a heads-up as to what and when that could happen,” said Birch, adding that food bank staff need to organize ahead of time how many volunteers they would need to organize and process the donations as well.

“This community is so generous,” she said, adding that recently, they landed a significant grant from Walmart as well.

Those fund will go towards the purchase of meat, eggs and milk, she noted. “We were also able to buy new shelving and a new freezer with their grant.”

She also said that ProNature Romar filled the freezer with 25 turkeys for Thanksgiving. And 100 Women Stettler also recently donated the proceeds from their most recent fundraising evening as well.

Earlier this fall, the Stettler Fire Department, local high school footballs teams, as well as Stettler Minor Hockey and the Heartland Youth Group teamed up to help out with a door-to-door food drive.

“There was a tremendous amount of food donated,” said Birch. “The food drive itself is beginning to run like a well-oiled machine - it’s really nice.”

Approximately 30 to 40 families on any given week will get some support from the Stettler Food Bank, which is located in the basement of the Stettler United Church, 4820 - 51st St.

It is open Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Wednesday during the evening.

Meanwhile, Birch said they are happy for any non-perishable food donations — those that are not expired or outdated — but she also mentioned that canned fruit, boxes of cereal, peanut butter, cheese spreads like Cheese Whiz, and canned vegetables are amongst the most needed.

”We will also take personal toiletries, too, like shampoo, toothpaste and bars of soap - those kinds of things.”

The Stettler Food Bank is a registered charity made up of volunteers. For more information, to get involved, or to make a donation, contact Birch at 403-742-0732.


@mweberRDExpress
editor@stettlerindependent.com.com

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Mark Weber

About the Author: Mark Weber

I've been a part of the Black Press Media family for about a dozen years now, with stints at the Red Deer Express, the Stettler Independent, and now the Lacombe Express.
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