Salmon Arm community groups and businesses have been stepping up to ease the strain community food banks are under due to COVID-19.
On March 31, the Salmon Arm Rotary Club’s president-elect Norm Brown presented cheques for $5,000 to both Second Harvest and the Salvation Army food banks.
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“Everyone knows how important it is to support food banks during this time when many people are laid off from their jobs and their businesses are suffering. This makes the demands on the food banks increase many-fold,” a statement from the Rotary Club reads.
The club thanked all community members who supported Rotary by attending fundraising events or donating directly to the club.
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On March 23, Second Harvest benefited from a $975 donation from the Shuswap’s Women Who Wine, a community group of business women who support local non-profits. Following that, Second Harvest received a donation of food, kids items and sanitization products to help the food bank’s volunteers. Second Harvest currently accepts e-transfer donations to secondharvestshuswap@gmail.com. Place your mailing address in the comments portion of the transfer to be issued a tax receipt.
The Salvation Army Food Bank has donation boxes at Walmart, Askew’s and Save-On-Foods, while monetary donations can be put through the mail slot at the church at 191 Second Ave. NE (donations put in the mail must have Box 505 added to the address).
Shortly after the COVID-19 crisis took hold in Salmon Arm local food banks began feeling the pinch. Representatives of Second Harvest and the Salvation Army told the Observer as their normal suppliers did not have much if any extra food to help keep the food bank shelves full.
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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