The fifth annual Great Canadian Food Fight is almost here, and the Mustard Seed needs your help to fill its storehouses for the demanding winter season.
Between Oct. 17-19, The Mustard Seed food bank will have donation stations set up across Greater Victoria for the food fight.
"This has been one of the toughest years I've experienced in my 30-year career," said food bank director Brent Palmer, who oversees food distribution to 7,000 people every month.
A successful food drive by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last week gave the Mustard Seed some reprieve for September, but summer donations were down for a second consecutive year, Palmer said.
Cash is actually preferable to food donations, as organizers make the dollars stretch further by buying in bulk, so Palmer hopes newly designed Food Bank B.C. coupons at local grocery stores will help bring in more cash donations as well.
“The money shoppers donate is ‘banked’ at the stores to allow food banks to purchase fresh food for our hampers," he said.
Palmer anticipates raising 200,000 pounds of food for this year's food fight to knock off last year's winner, the Regina Food Bank.
Online donations are also accepted and for every $2.50, one pound of food will be added to The Mustard Seed’s total.
As always, Palmer extended his thanks to the community for their continued support of the Capital Region's most vulnerable residents.
“With the support of compassionate, generous people, the Mustard Seed can meet this goal," he said.
For more information, visit must mustardseed.ca.