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Food drive aims to can hunger

Province-wide event will help those in need

Powell River’s congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is joining a province-wide food drive to help those in need.

The BC Thanksgiving Food Drive will involve about 3,000 volunteers around the province during this year’s collection day, Saturday, September 17. Donation bags will be dropped off to as many homes as possible up to a week earlier.

The effort is non-denominational and several other churches, corporate sponsors, and volunteers from the general public will be joining in the drive, which is designed to become an annual event said Matt Hull, president of the Powell River congregation. The food drive has been assisted locally through the support of Rona Building Centre and Safeway.

“This is an amazing reaching-out among caring people all over our province and we are excited to have others join us so willingly,” added Hull. “We have seen through the summer just how desperately the food banks need help, so the aim is to bolster their shelves in time to help people for Thanksgiving.”

The BC Thanksgiving Food Drive is being organized in conjunction with Food Banks British Columbia and conforms to the association’s code of ethics. No cash donations will be solicited door-to-door.

In Powell River, the proceeds from the food drive will be shared between Powell River Action Centre Food Bank, Seventh Day Adventist Church, and Powell River Salvation Army.

In addition to Powell River, which is part of the church’s Nanaimo, BC Stake, the area organization for the mid and north Vancouver Island region, the food drive will involve Latter-day Saint congregations in Duncan, Nanaimo, Qualicum, Port Alberni, Courtenay, Campbell River and Port McNeill. The Victoria, BC Stake and its congregations are also holding a similar food drive in the capital city region.

Individual or community group volunteers are welcome and duties range from collecting to sorting food stuffs. Readers interested in helping out are asked to call Powell River organizer Morris Kotyluk at 604.485.2729. More information on the BC-wide food drive is available on the BCTFD website at  www.bct

fooddrive.org.