KAMLOOPS — The shelves are stocked at the Kamloops Food Bank thanks to the generosity of the community, and a holiday fundraising tradition.
The CP Holiday train arrived in Kamloops on Friday, bringing with it live music and thousands of pounds of food donations for the local food bank.
Nearly 3,000 people attended. and nearly $40,000 was donated by businesses and individuals at the event.
“It was overwhelming, it was beautiful,” said Kamloops Food Bank Executive Director Bernadette Siracky. “The weather was beautiful, the crowd was amazing, the energy from the band was fabulous, and we brought back over 4,000 lbs of food, which our volunteers are busy sorting through today. Another wave of generosity that we certainly appreciate.”
Food donations were pouring in to the Kamloops Food Bank prior to the arrival of the Holiday Train.
According to Siracky, the spirit of generosity at Christmas time is necessary to sustain the agency until its next food drive.
“This is a very important time for us, but what it brings out is more than food, it brings compassion, it brings camaraderie, it brings community, and there’s just a removal of judgement a little bit I think at Christmas time. There’s this desire to give back, and to just not question, and we really feel that here.”
