The shelves at the Salvation Army food bank in Chatham are looking a little fuller again thanks to a food drive organized by a local chapter of the Knights of Columbus.
Steve Brent with the Knights of Columbus Blessed Sacrament Council 1412 said they had well over 100 volunteers helping out during the three-day food drive at the Real Canadian Superstore and Food Basics in Chatham on April 3, 4, and 5.
Brent said one of the keys to their success was providing shoppers with a grocery list of the highest priority needs from the food bank.
"People grabbed the bargains at the store and then left it with volunteers on their way out the door," said Brent. "It totalled 331 banana boxes, which we're absolutely delighted that was the response of the community of Chatham-Kent."
Brent said by the time they wrapped things up, the volunteers had collected over 20,000 pounds of food for the food bank at the Salvation Army of Chatham-Kent.
He said that is the largest amount of food they have collected at one of these food drives. Their last donation drive collected 16,000 pounds of food.
"It's a real testament that people in Chatham-Kent really care about those that are in need of those services provided by Chatham-Kent Salvation Army ministries," said Brent, who also gave credit to Conagra Foods in Dresden for supporting the most recent fundraiser as a corporate partner.
He said another factor in their success was the enthusiastic volunteers they had for helping out.
"We created a lot of noise in the foyers and the entranceway," said Brent. "I think the more noise we created with more people joyous to help, the more generously the public responded."
Brent said they had volunteers from Community Living and the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation along with students from Chatham-Kent Secondary School and Ursuline College Chatham. They were also supported by volunteers from the Salvation Army and members of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Chatham.
In addition to the food donations, the Salvation Army had some of its red kettles out to collect monetary donations. That effort managed to raise more than $5,700, which was converted into gift cards for the Salvation Army to use at the grocery stores for their highest priority needs at the food bank.
Brent said the Knights of Columbus will be holding another food drive in the fall.
