Last weekend's (September 14), fall food drive hosted by the Helping Hands Society was a huge success.

 

Collecting 1500 cases of food and roughly 2,300 dollars in cash/cheque donations, Sandra Scott, Programs Manager, was thrilled with the results. "It is so awesome, Cochrane is really great."

Scott estimates that close to 700 volunteers came out to help on the day of, making everything run smoothly. "I really feel that everybody just stepped it up. There was a lot of volunteers in communities that helped pick up on more than one street to make it work, and they worked hard at collecting those 1,500 boxes."

The food bank shelves have now been replenished, shares Scott, and things are looking quite good. "It is so awesome, and it looks like so much. It is so well organized and it is quite joyful."

No shortage of any specific items has been relayed to Scott at this time. And most tables at the sorting centre, reported an increase of items and products that are sometimes forgotten. Doing a final sweep of grocery stores tomorrow (September 20), there is still time to donate. "We did do a pick up the grocery stores on Saturday; but when we went back a couple of days later, they were already starting to fill up again."

While Scott isn't sure if a higher percentage of houses donated this go around, she does feel there was more overall awareness about the food drive. "It seems it is kind of neighbourhood specific. In some neighbourhoods we saw an uptake in donations while in other ones we still see that one in three households. I think though we are starting to communicate better."

Lastly, Scott gives kudos to all those that helped make this food drive, such as success. "It is such a fun day, and I love seeing such an intergenerational mix from the kids to the grandmas. Thank you to everybody and all those that emailed, called, and texted me afterward saying they will be doing it again next year. It is great to see how everybody enjoys and has a fun time."

While the food bank graciously accepts donations year-round, for those wishing to save the date, the spring food drive is scheduled for April 25, 2020.