Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

FALL FOOD DRIVE

Rotary Food Drive collects over 22 tonnes of non-perishable items for the Kamloops Food Bank

Sep 20, 2021 | 3:23 PM

KAMLOOPS — Over the weekend, the Rotary Food Drive took place across Kamloops. Thousands of yellow bags full of non-perishable food were collected by hundreds of Kamloops Rotary volunteers.

“We received 54,000 pounds, which is an incredible amount of food in just a few hours,” Kamloops Food Bank Executive Director Bernadette Siracky tells CFJC Today.

The food drive has been responsible for filling the shelves of the food bank since 2012. According to Siracky, kids that used to volunteer with their parents are now able to drive themselves and the event has developed a real community feel to it.

“People are coming with dogs and kids, and people squished in the back seat. It really is a family event,” Siracky says. “It feels like everyone is coming together with excitement. The desire to see one another, the camaraderie. The dedication to supporting one another is so clear, and it’s beautiful to just watch these Rotarians come in and share with the next generation what compassion looks like.”

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The food bank is in the midst of an expansion as well. A new warehouse is under construction across the street from the current location, which itself was renovated and expanded in 2013. Siracky says the current space is being converted to accommodate an expanded perishable food program. The new warehouse is set to open in December.

“We had temporary storage set up there for years. We had nine sea cans, they were totally full, and even then we were struggling with our day-to-day process. It was interesting trying to get to all the product you were trying to get to. We realized a few years ago we really needed a permanent space.”

In the meantime, the Food Bank has had to find a new space to house around 30 pallets worth of food from the food drive, along with all the other non-perishable items they usually have on hand. Siracky says the new building will ease the pressure the Food Bank has been feeling over the past several years and will house all non-perishable food deliveries and sorting, once it’s completed.

“We’re going to have 3,600 square feet, but we’re going to have proper racking. It’s a purpose-built facility where we’re going to have sorting spaces, proper racking — really safety-oriented. There are going to be three bays. We cannot wait to move in.”