The Business Cares Food Drive has always hit its goal, but this year's campaign haul exceeded targets by a staggering amount.
The three-week food drive that asks businesses of all sizes to donate to help stock the shelves of the London Food Bank wrapped up on Friday, bringing in 435,300 lbs of food. That is a 34% increase over the 325,000 lbs of food donated during last year's campaign.
"It is really due to more companies being involved," said Campaign Chair Wayne Dunn. "We had some anonymous donors who came in with some large contributions, we had past donors who have been with us a longtime all come to the table again, and when you put it all together with somewhat of a better economy in the region for some industries, more were in the giving spirit. That translated into an incredible increase in donations. It is quite humbling."
More than 500 area businesses participated in the annual food drive, which is now in its 18th year. In addition to the nine truckloads of food that were delivered to the food bank by campaign organizers and volunteers, there were also multiple cash donations.
"The amount of people this is going to help over the next three-to-four months is huge," said Dunn. "All of the people in London should be very proud of themselves and we thank everybody for it."
The financial donations made during the food drive will be used to purchase fresh produce, milk, and meat for the food bank, which serves roughly 3,500 families a month.
“I always say that we’d be happy with anything that we receive,” said Food Bank Co-Executive Director Jane Roy. “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.”
