In another sign of the pandemic’s lengthy hold on London, the city’s largest food bank has launched its second virtual spring food drive.
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In another sign of the pandemic’s lengthy hold on London, the city’s largest food bank has launched its second virtual spring food drive.
At the same time, the London Food Bank is also launching a new mobile and neighbourhood service, thanks to donations, and is asking Londoners to suggestnames and brand the new program. That launch was reported by The Free Press on Thursday.
The food bank will work this year with five neighbourhood resource centres and four YMCA branches to deliver hampers with a month’s worth of food to people throughout the city. The main warehouse on Leathorne Street will continue to provide food.
Food bank co-directors Jane Roy and Glen Pearson credited the generosity of Londoners during the pandemic with giving the organization enough money to make the mobile and neighbourhood service a reality.
At the pandemic’s start last March, the food bank had to quickly switch to a virtual drive, rather than one that relied on brown paper bags delivered in The London Free Press to be filled with non-perishable goods. Since then, the food bank has accepted mainly financial donations that have helped provide the money for the new program.
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The new program has no name yet, and Roy encouraged Londoners to head to the website and offer some suggestions.
“If you’ve got some great ideas, the whole idea of the food bank going mobile and coming to neighbourhoods, that would be amazing,” she said
Here’s a rundown of the spring drive, the food bank’s past year and the new program:
2021 SPRING FOOD DRIVE
From Friday until April 5
- Virtual bag in London Free Press March 26, in place of physical bag.
- Donate at www.londonfoodbank.ca. Cheques and cash at food bank also accepted; e-transfers not accepted.
- Non-perishable food and toiletries can be donated at grocery stores; list of needed items available on food bank website.
- Donating food is low risk for COVID-19 spread, but money goes further when food bank does purchasing.
- Fire stations not accepting food donations.
- With healthy supplies at the central warehouse, up to 100 per cent from spring drive will go other agencies and food services, compared to usual 60 per cent
FOOD BANK USAGE
- Average of 2,625 families a month came for help in January and February.
- Usage spiked in March 2020, fell in summer, rose in fall.
- In 2020, average monthly visits down 17 per cent to 2,732 households from 3,293, but family size increased.
- Average family comes to the food bank four times a year.
- 40 per cent of clients aged 18 or younger.
- More than 11,000 meals a month provided through homeless lunch program in 2020.
- Fresh donations went from 47 per cent of total in 2018 to 50 per cent in 2020.
- In 2020, 32,783 hampers were distributed to 87,283 individuals.
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NEIGHBOURHOOD FOOD PROGRAM
- Launches May 3 at South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre.
- Launches in June at YMCA’s Centre, Bob Hayward, Stoney Creek, and Bostwick branches.
- Launches by September at Northwest London Resource Centre, Crouch Neighbourhood Resource Centre, Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre, LUSO Community Services.
- Each will provide food bank hampers and their regular services.
WHAT THEY SAID
“This wonderful launch and partnership with the London Food Bank is shifting how we do business. Our shift will go from being an emergency food site with community programs to the London Food Bank neighbourhood site with all our neighbourhood programs and services.”
– Nancy Needham, executive director, South London centre
“This is further demonstration of a commitment that the food bank has always had to get food to folks who need it, in a way that makes perfect sense for them. We think this is just such a terrific opportunity.”
– Andrew Lockie, chief executive, YMCA Southwestern Ontario
“This is maybe the most important press conference we’ve had in 35 years, other than the very first one we did. Thanks to the generosity of Londoners and the London business community, we can no longer just talk about this, or have little fits and starts and try to make this work. We now have the resources necessary to give this thing a really great launch. This isn’t about the food bank, this really about the resource centres that have been on the front lines all the way along and could use these resources. The Y knew the city was really struggling under COVID and they stepped up.”
– Glen Pearson, co-director, London Food Bank
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