Now that the dust has settled from all the activities surrounding Christmas, we have been able to take stock and asses the results from all the collections that happened over the season. I am pleased to report that we received a phenomenal amount of food during the months of November and December; in fact it was the largest Christmas collection yet. The amount of donations was so overwhelming that we had to secure additional storage to accommodate the outpouring of support from the community. We have easily exceeded our expectations by at least 40,000 lbs. to an approximate collection of 150,000 lbs. during the Christmas period.
This is due in large part to the incredible amount of “third party” activities taking place around the city by businesses, unions, service groups, schools and groups of individuals who took it upon themselves to conduct food collections on our behalf. We are sincerely grateful to all of you who participated and donated to these efforts. The financial donations were also very strong this past year and have positioned us well in meeting the demands for our service in the coming year.
The challenges we face for 2013 will be immense. With no measurable increases in assistance to low-income families and the continued rise in the cost of living, we fear that dependence on food banks will only increase this year. The projections from most economists are that the cost of food in particular will continue to rise significantly and put a greater burden on those with limited incomes. In 2012 we saw an increase in demand of 7% adding to a 22% increase since the recession began in the fall of 2008.
The outpouring of support we have received from the community of Kingston has been overwhelming and a much appreciated indicator of the confidence and trust our neighbours have in our service to those less fortunate.
To all of you who made a contribution to Partners in Mission Food Bank in 2012, we would like to extend our enthusiastic thanks and best wishes for 2013.
Sandy Singers
Executive Director
Partners in Mission Food Bank
