Local food bank donations impacted by postal strike

The ongoing Canada Post strike is impacting fundraising initiatives at the Nelson Community Food Centre, which relies on mail-in donations during the holiday season.

During the holidays, the food centre runs its annual Festive Food Days, which provides Good Food Bank users with access to healthy festive foods.

This year, the event is also serving festive community meals every second Wednesday.

Development Director Andrew Creighton says the centre aims to raise about $100,000 from November to mid-January each year to fund holiday programming. He says historically, about 35 per cent of donations during the holidays are received via mail.

However, in the wake of the Canada Post strike, Creighton says the centre has had to shift how it accepts donations.

“We usually send out a large direct mail campaign during the holidays, and many people pop a cheque in the envelope that we provide and send it back to us, and that’s not possible right now. So the fact that we can’t do our direct mail campaign and send people letters just means that people have to take advantage of other ways to support us.”

The impact on donations won’t be fully known until after the holidays. Creighton says the strike, coupled with increasing demand for services, has made it particularly hard to get donations from the community.

“Food banks across Canada are experiencing a huge uptick in numbers, and the expense of food has gone through the roof. So that’s another reality. We’re still optimistic that it’ll work out, but there are these converging factors that are just making us reach out to people about how they can support us.”

At present, the centre is accepting donations online through its website or in person at the centre, located at 602 Silica Street. In-person donations will only be accepted during operating hours, which are Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Additionally, Creighton says you can call him personally if you need help with donating, adding that monetary donations are highly encouraged.

“Financial donations are more helpful to us than food. It’s about enabling us to meet our goals as an organization. The dollar gives us the power to make decisions on what we want to purchase for the organization.”

Creighton can be reached at 250-551-0305. More information on the Food Centre and how to donate can be found here. 

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