The Alberta Motor Association wants to “channel the power of community action” to help the food bank.
Need is greater than ever during the pandemic. This holiday season, Alberta food banks expect to be grappling with historic demand, so the AMA is rallying its nearly one million members to fight food insecurity.
“Since the onset of COVID, it’s been clear that we’re stronger when we act together,” says Jane Flower, vice-president of Corporate Purpose at AMA.
This year the AMA will be focusing on grassroots donation initiatives. Over the next six weeks, there will be local food drives, drive-thru donation events, community collection bins, and online giving through FillOurFleet.ca.
Alberta food banks have seen an average 30 per cent spike in users since 2019 – the second-highest increase in the country. Nearly 116,400 people provincewide rely on the service every month, and a third are children.
These trends compelled the Red Deer Food Bank to streamline facilities and expand capacity this year.
Mitch Thompson, the organization’s executive director, said, upgrades were made to the shipping and receiving bays and new vehicles and equipment were purchased to keep up with the demand. It’s “all happening at a time when it was greatly needed.”
Now, more volunteers are needed at the food bank to help collect, sort, package and distribute the food to clients.
Flower is urging, “Challenge your friends and family to collect non-perishables – a little healthy competition. Rally your neighbours to attend one of our food drives. The ripple effects of food insecurity touch every community, so surely that’s how we must respond — as a community.”
To learn more, visit FillOurFleet.ca.