Ancaster News - February 23, 2011

Food drive ready to make a million on Saturday Volunteers step up to the plate

With two days left until the big event, the Ancaster Community Food Drive has a full slate of volunteer drivers ready to hit the streets on Saturday, Feb. 26.
“We have filled the routes and now only need the food coming in,” said food drive committee member Jan Lukas.
Billed as the million-pound food drive, this year’s 19th annual event is expected to reach a major milestone.
Since 1993,the event has brought in 965,900 pounds of food.
Organizers expect to top the one million mark by midday on Saturday.
Last year’s food drive brought in more than 75,000 pounds of food and $7,000 in cash.
Bridge the gap The food drive is designed to help Hamilton food banks bridge the gap between Christmas and Easter, when donations traditionally decline.
The most food ever collected in a single year was 79,000 pounds in 2009.
Some of the most urgently needed food items include rice, lentils, chick peas, peanut butter, fruit cups,pasta, flour based products like cereal, formula, large size diapers and toiletries.
Anyone interested in volunteering can help with the noon to 3 p.m. shift at St. John’s Parish Hall on Feb. 26. Volunteers are also needed to help set up the hall on Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To volunteer, contact Ancaster Community Services at 905-648- 6675 or email ancastercommunityfooddrive@gmail.com Despite the news of 2010’s economic recovery, more Hamilton households accessed a city food bank in 2010 compared to the previous year.
In 2010, 8,507 households used a food bank, compared to 7,685 in 2009.
“Significant challenges experienced by service providers have left the system at times as vulnerable as the people they serve,” Hamilton Food Share states in its Hamilton Hunger Count 2010 report.
Hamilton Food Share, the umbrella organization that supports the city’s local food banks, reports that many social service agencies are struggling to keep pace with demands.
In 2010, food bank respondents cited the following:
•30 per cent ran out of food,
•40 per cent gave out less food,
•80 per cent were forced to buy more food,
•70 per cent asked churches for help and
•50 per cent appealed to corporate sponsors.
Watch for volunteers at your door beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Food donations can be left on your doorstep, but items should not be placed outside overnight.

Snap Hamilton - February 2010

Ancaster's 1,000,000 LB. Food Drive

Get ready Ancaster for the 2011 Ancaster Community Food Drive. The goal this year is to collect 1,000,000 lbs. of food. Flyers will be delivered to your doors on February 19th as a reminder to get your donations ready. Between 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on February 26th, volunteers will be collecting your donations and bringing the haul to St. John's Anglican Church on Halson St. for pick up by local agencies. If interested in helping out, volunteers are still needed so please contact 905-648-6675 or ancastercommunityfooddrive@gmail.com.

The Hamilton Spectator - Monday February 28, 2010

Ancaster food drive passes million-pound mark

ANCASTER - Agencies arriving Monday to accept donations from the Ancaster Community Food Drive will be taking away food that helped the drive surpass a milestone in its 19 year history. The drive for food donations surpassed the million-pound mark. It collected 79,000 pounds of food including 10,000 pounds from Ancaster's 11 public and Catholic schools on Saturday. The drive had collected 965,900 pounds in its history. The new cumulative total is 1,044,900 pounds. Seven agencies will each get about 10,000 pounds in food when they arrive in their vans at St. John's Parish Hall Monday morning. Cash donations of $8,000 will be presented to Ancaster Community Services to help feed local people in need, including Ancaster's seniors. Between 300 and 400 volunteers helped collect the donations in the one-day blitz across town, which also saw people drop off donations at the town's two firehalls. The support doesn't end there. "We've got a couple men taking off work so they help load up the vans," said Jan Lukas, a member of the food drive organizing committee. "It's really kind of cool." Lukas said her group was "ecstatic" at the amount raised this year. It ties the record of amount of food collected and Lukas was “thrilled” at that, especially as the Canadian economy is still recovering from recession. “I’m absolutely ecstatic we were able to reach that million-pound milestone, but I’m also excited to see the youths and volunteers involved,” she said. “I’m just profoundly impressed.” Lukas said the volunteers involved everyone from a three-year-old boy to a 90-year-old man.
dnolan@thespec.com
905-526-3351