More than 100 bags of food collected during drive.
The Salvation Army hosted its Back-To-School Food Drive Saturday outside Sobeys. Volunteers Ruth Pilgrim, left, Dwayne Norrie, community and family services worker Heather Murch, Sobeys franchisee owner John Anderson, Salvation Army Corps Sergeant Major Dennis Miner, Captain Peter van Duinen, volunteers Maurice Partridge and Doug MacDonald were on hand to collect food and donations.
Cody Storm Cooper/North Star
PARRY SOUND – Thanks to the generosity of people in Parry Sound, more than a hundred bags of food were collected during The Salvation Army’s Back-to-School Food Drive.
The food drive took place at Sobeys on Saturday, Sept. 1. The food, non-perishable goods such as canned soups and vegetables, peanut butter and snack items, came in mostly in the brown paper sacks which had been prepared by Sobeys staff in the days leading up to the food drive. Shoppers were able to purchase a food drive bag with their groceries and then hand it off to one of eight Salvation Army volunteers who were on hand to collect the donations.
In addition to the 365 pounds of food donations, The Salvation Army also received more than $380 in cash donations for its Emergency Food Bank.
“The back-to-School Food Drive is timely for us as we serve a lot of families during these early back-to-school days,” said Salvation Army Captain Peter van Duinen, Corps Officer of The Salvation Army in Parry Sound. “It’s the beginning of a new school year and many families are dealing with the added financial burden of school lunches, new shoes and clothes, and paying for class trips. As a result of these added expenses, we see an increase in food bank usage at this time of year as many area families try to make what little income they have go as far as possible.”
Heather Murch, The Salvation Army’s Community & Family Services worker, added, “One hundred per cent of the items donated go directly to clients of the food bank, social programs and school feeding programs.”
The Salvation Army wishes to extend its thanks to the volunteers who helped collect donations, as well as to the staff and management of Sobeys who prepared the food drive bags and have become great supporters of the work of The Salvation Army in the community.
Special thanks are also extended to Randy Eveleigh of Dempster’s Bread for donating 70 loaves of bread, and to Steve Merry of Frito Lay’s who is donating snack items, all of which will be distributed through The Salvations Army’s food bank.
The Salvation Army is an international Christian church that began its work in Parry Sound in 1887 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in the West Parry Sound District.
The Salvation Army gives hope and support to vulnerable people today and every day in Parry Sound and 124 countries around the world.
The Salvation Army offers practical assistance for children and families, often tending to the basic necessities of life, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and supporting people who have lost control of their lives to an addiction.