The London Food Bank's 35th annual Thanksgiving food drive is entering its final weekend.
As of Friday, roughly 62,000 lbs worth of food had been donated, which is on par with where the drive was at this time last year.
"Of the 62,000 lbs donated, about two thirds of that is food donations, which is great because that becomes the core of what we give out," said Jane Roy, the food bank's co-executive director. "The other remaining third is cash donations - about $70,000 - which will turn into about 25,000 lbs worth of food. The money value doesn't turn into as much food as a year ago due to inflation, but it is still incredibly generous and important."
The food drive, which kicked off last Friday, comes at a time when the food bank is dealing with soaring demand for its services. Over the first eight months of the year, the number of people who rely on the food bank increased by 43 per cent. More than 5,200 families, or over 12,000 individuals, are coming to the food bank each month. Around 34 per cent of the people coming in are first time users, which is up from 28 per cent in 2022.
Even with the increased demand, Roy noted the food bank has been able to maintain food hampers so that recipients are getting a good variety of food items and the same size hamper as they always have. The ability to do that relates back to Londoners willingness to give.
Last year's drive brought in 113,135 lbs worth of food, a total that could easily be matched this year.
"We tend to see an influx of donations over the Thanksgiving weekend," said Roy. "More people go grocery shopping and tend to be incredibly generous. As well, we have found over the Thanksgiving weekend more people make online donations... so we expect a great weekend because that's traditionally when Londoners have given."
Donations to the Thanksgiving food drive can be dropped off at most grocery stores and London fire stations. Financial donations can be made online at www.londonfoodbank.ca.
