Revelstoke’s Emergency Services Food Drive readies to fill shelves

The 2024 Emergency Services Food Drive will hit the streets Wednesday, Sept. 18 to collect non-perishable food items and monetary donations for the Community Connections Revelstoke Society (CCRS). The drive is vital in CCRS’ efforts to provide food security to those in Revelstoke, with food donations helping provide variety on the food bank shelves and monetary donations purchasing bulk amounts of staple foods. This year CCRS is hoping to resupply shelves that have spent the last year more often bare than full.

“I don’t even know how to express the need right now,” Bailey Friesen, CCRS 2024 Emergency Services Food Drive coordinator told Revelstoke Mountaineer. “The shelves are empty. This food drive is going to go a long way in filling those shelves up again.”

On  Sept. 18, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. food drive volunteers and Revelstoke emergency service vehicles will be making their way through communities, collecting food donations left on doorsteps and knocking on doors for potential monetary donations. Last year’s food drive collected over 9,100 pounds of food and $6,400 in donations.

While CCRS can purchase food items in bulk using cash donations, filling shelves with key staples such as rice and pastas, donated food items provide a range of options for clients accessing the food bank, Freisen explained.

“When we purchase beans, we might purchase however many cases of black beans. It’s not seasoned, it’s not organic, it’s not anything special.”

Donated food can also help provide for dietary needs such as gluten-free, an option the food bank can’t always provide through food purchased by donations. Both monetary and food donations both have their roles in the drive.

Recent numbers show an average of 137 households, totalling 250 individuals are visiting the Revelstoke food bank. With an overall increased cost of living and an average wage of $19 in Revelstoke, below the estimated $24.60 livable wage, Friesen said the food bank has certainly not seen a decrease in need.

“Look around your neighbourhood. Across your street, there’s probably someone living there who accesses the food bank.”

Expired and damaged food donations are discarded. Last year residents heard the call to keep donations new, undamaged and usable, with only five per cent of donations discarded down from 30 per cent seen in previous years. 

To bring in the donations, CCRS will rely heavily on volunteers for the 2024 Emergency Services Food Drive. An estimated 250 volunteers are needed to help collect donations door- to- door and sort through food donations

Whether you’re able to collect donations, sort through or help pack them up, Friesen encourages anyone interested in volunteering to either sign up or reach out for more information.