Sarnia's Salvation Army is $50,000 away from reaching its goal as it makes the final push in its Red Kettle campaign.
At last count, $110,000 had been raised so far, which is behind where the Salvation Army would like to be by this point.
"Typically we have a goal of about $140,000. We've seen a lot more usage in our organization this year so we've had to up the total to $160,000," said Lieutenant Brad Webster.
A recent survey from the Salvation Army found that 59 per cent of respondents visited a food bank for the first time this year.
Money raised through the local Red Kettle campaign supports various services, including rental/utility assistance, dental and medical assistance, and hearing aid assistance.
Webster said kettles will be out until 12 p.m. on December 24 at Canadian Tire, Lambton Mall, Metro (Northgate), Superstore, and Walmart.
Each kettle has a tiptap machine if residents prefer to donate with a debit/credit card or through an app. The pre-programmed donation amounts on the machine are $5, $10, and $20.
"If it's over the $20 amount, we can issue a temporary tax receipt right there at the kettle."
Ahead of Christmas, Webster thanked all of the volunteers who have helped meet the needs of the community this year.
