The shelves of the London Food Bank will be fully stocked for the next little while, thanks in large part to area businesses.
The Business Cares Food Drive wrapped up Friday morning and not only hit its goal but exceeded it, bringing in a record 443,000 lbs of food. That is a 1.8 per cent increase over the 435,300 lbs of food donated during last year’s campaign.
“It would be an understatement to say we’re thrilled with this year’s results,” said Wayne Dunn, campaign chair of the Business Cares Food Drive. “We’re both overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity of the people in London. We’ve had incredible support from businesses, employees, and the community at large."
The three-week food drive asks businesses of all sizes to donate non-perishables and money to ensure the food bank and the 25 agencies it supplies have enough on their shelves to feed those in need over the holidays and beyond. This year, more than 500 area businesses participated.
In addition to the truckloads of food that were delivered to the food bank by campaign organizers and volunteers, there were also multiple cash donations. Those financial donations will be used to purchase fresh produce, milk, and meat for the food bank, which serves roughly 3,500 families a month.
The food drive has been organized annually for the past 19 years and has always hit its campaign goal of bringing in just one pound of food more than the previous year.
"I always say that we’d be happy with anything that we receive,” said Jane Roy, co-executive director of the London Food Bank. “And while that is absolutely true, I would be remiss in not acknowledging the incredible generosity of the London community. In addition to those who come to the Food Bank, we also support a number of organizations and service that make a difference in the community, and we can only do that thanks to the support of Londoners.”
