At this time of year, many of us think about how to give back to our communities. One of the most traditional methods is to donate to your local food bank. But, besides bringing in non perishable goods and money are there other choice? There are… StreetSmart, Food For Families, and Food Banks BC.
StreetSmart
StreetSmart started in London, England in 1998 with the goal of ending hunger and homelessness in their city. They realized that most of us will be going out to dinner during the holidays, and created this simple yet clever premise; asking patrons at the end of their meal, if they’d like to donate $1 to a local food bank.
StreetSmart.org is in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India and Canada, and StreetSmart Victoria organizer, Karen Clarke has many of our great local restaurants participating.
How does StreetSmart work?
When guests are seated, the server invites the guests to participate in the StreetSmart Project and points to the information card on the table, and at the end of their meal when the bill is presented, the guests have the option of allowing the server to add a $1 (or more) donation to their bill.
With 100 per cent of the proceeds going to local food banks, such as The Mustard Seed, the charities that serve the community’s most needy will get a big financial boost.
Food For Families Annual Campaign
Join Thrifty Foods in there annual Food for Families Campaign, which runs from December 4th to January 3rd. The program provides customers with the option of adding a $5, $10, or $20 Food For Families gift voucher to their grocery order. Funds are then transformed into fresh groceries for those in need in our communities.
In 2013, the Food For Families fundraiser provided $274,000 to local food banks. Food for Families supports, Mustard Seed Food Bank, Goldstream Food Bank, Sidney Lions Food Bank, CMS Food Bank Society, Cowichan Valley Basket Society, Saltspring Island Community ServicesFood Banks.
Food Banks BC
Your $2 donation at the grocery check-out, food banks in BC receive close to $1 million dollars’ worth of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and much needed protein every year. The $2 donation through your grocery store ensures a variety of fresh healthy foods critical to every person’s nutritional needs are available to the local community food bank.
That $2 donation goes a long way to help the 94,000 children, seniors and families each month that cannot afford the nutrition so vital to their health. Grocers participating in Victoria include Thrifty Foods, Save-on-Foods, Fairways, Safeway and Country Grocer.
