Revelstoke’s 2024 Holiday Train event, Monday, Dec.16 brought in $3,023 in community donations through Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services’ hotdog sales and donation boxes at the event, and 339 pounds of food for Community Connections Revelstoke Society’s (CCRS) food bank. Canadian Pacific Kansas City, organizer of the holiday train, also donated $10,000 to Revelstoke’s food bank as part of the Holiday Train’s annual community outreach. The total $13,023 was one of various community fundraisers leading up to the end of the year that collectively raised over $123,000 in donations and brought in over 3,500 pounds of food. With a year-end goal of $160,000 in donations and a collective $70,000 donated through April to November, holiday donations helped CCRS beat their target by over $33,000. At a time where global economic concerns are being felt even in Revelstoke and food bank usage has steadily increased for the small community organization, Jenna Thomsen, CCRS food bank and outreach coordinator sees no slowing down in the ways Revelstoke supports one another.
Community efforts
Organizations from around Revelstoke worked to collect food and monetary donations for CCRS leading up to the holidays. From smaller businesses such as Gutter Done Exteriors and Balu Yoga to larger groups including Mackenzie Village and the contractors working there there was no shortage of community members who stepped up to help.
While CCRS is always able to leverage monetary donations to buy food staples in bulk, food donations can provide a diversity for client dietary needs. Food drives from Revelstoke’s schools, pantry staple bags purchased and donated at Save-On-Foods, donation bins at Southside Market and other small food drives in and around Revelstoke helped bring in ample food to restock food bank shelves. With half of 2024’s Emergency Services Food Drive food donations already provided to community members by the start of December, it was a much needed boost for the holiday season.
“We were able to provide chickens and hams, those holiday staples for folks,” Thomsen said.
Businesses like Powder Rentals offered special deals for those who brought in food and monetary donations for CCRS leading up to the holiday ski season. Sugar Shack developed a Revelstoke themed advent calendar with proceeds going to CCRS. Holiday concerts at Revelstoke’s various schools all called for monetary and food donations, something Thomsen said families happily turned out for, with over $970 donated by Revelstoke schools.
It wasn’t just food and money that was donated for community members in need this holiday season, Thomsen added, with Pure Image Salon hosting a pajama drive to collect new pajamas to hand out to CCRS clients. Other businesses and organizations found creative ways to collect for CCRS after they reached out and asked for donations. Even businesses not contacted by CCRS reached out to see if they could help.
“The need is high, but the community was really committed in helping us.”
Holiday boom and bust for Revelstoke food bank
Focus on donating to food banks and other community support leading up to the holidays is nothing new, creating a boom of food and money for organizations to use. So, how does CCRS plan to stretch the windfall out for as long as possible, helping with months that see higher needs and fewer donations?
“We’re going to keep reminding the community we’re always open to donations. Even small regular donations are helpful,” Thomsen said.
With her first Emergency Service Food Drive and holiday boom in the role now past, Thomsen feels like she has a better picture of what the shelves at Revelstoke’s food bank look like throughout the year. That knowledge has her mapping out strategies for 2025.
“I’m hoping that we can have some different fundraising and donation strategies throughout the year with different businesses because everything that we get at Christmas won’t last the rest of the year.”
Thomsen is also planning to double education efforts on what can and cannot be donated to the food bank, helping cut down on the waste that CCRS has to then manage.
“Cans that are dented, packaging that is opened, we can’t accept those and then we have to throw them out. If it’s less than a year past its expiration date we can use that, but we want to stress not donating expired food.”
There are slight increases in the number of clients who access CCRS resources and the food bank before the start of winter and summer seasons with many clients being between seasonal work. But the ebbs and flows are not overly noticeable, Thomsen said. The clientele who access the food bank are members of the community.
“I truly believe that our community is totally for the food bank,” Thomsen said. “There are a lot of really giving people in this town.”
“I want to thank the community in all the ways they helped out this year,” Thomsen added. “That need is throughout the year. Don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s any sort of fundraiser or anything that anyone’s interested in putting on for the food bank.”
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