Community News

FOOD DRIVE VIRTUAL AGAIN

KEVIN WERNER kwerner@hamiltonnews.com

In 2021, the Ancaster Community Food Drive organizers decided to switch to a virtual fundraising event, with the expectation that they would be celebrating the 30th anniversary in-person in 2022.

But because of the sustained COVID-19 pandemic, the committee was forced for the second year in a row to switch to a virtual fundraising campaign.

"We made the difficult decision to pivot," said co-chair Jim LoPresti.

The food drive committee, which was preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year in person, held an emergency meeting Jan. 14 to decide how to operate the popular event this year. LoPresti said with the Omicron variant raging through the community, it was decided that they didn't want to put volunteers and the community at risk of the virus. The one-day event had been scheduled to start on March 5.

"Omicron is spreading so fast," said LoPresti.

In October, the group was "so excited" about the easing of health and safety restrictions that they were planning on returning to the

in-person fundraising campaign, he said. But once the variant was discovered and started to infect people across the country, the committee had no choice but to stay with its virtual campaign.

"It is a disappointment again," said LoPresti.

He said several members of the committee have experienced COVID-19, including himself.

He said food banks are still helping the community during trying times, putting their health at risk and need support as much as possible.

The committee is encouraging Ancaster residents to contribute to the food drive again this year. In 2021, the fundraising effort raised $67,000, exceeding its $60,000 target.

Since the food drive began, the event has collected 1,856,500 pounds of food for individuals and families throughout the city. In 2020, at the Ancaster Fairgrounds, food drive volunteers sorted and weighed 102,000 pounds of food. In 2019, the event raised a record 107,000 pounds.

In past food drive events, the organization relied on more than 400 volunteers going door-to-door in Ancaster picking up donations on the day of the event.

LoPresti said he expects the community to respond to the food drive as it always has in the past. Individuals can go to www.ancasterfooddrive.ca, which provides the individual links to each of the community services and their respective donation pages.

LoPresti said the group's website will be updated to keep the community informed about the change to this year's fundraising campaign. It will also provide links to various charitable organizations that normally benefit from the food drive so individuals can make a tax deductible donation.

The committee is encouraging donors to support Ancaster Community Services, Good Shepherd, Hamilton Food Share, Mission Services, Neighbour 2 Neighbour, St. Matthew's House and the Salvation Army.

"A year from now, we are focused on bringing it back to an in-person event," he said.

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2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

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