The campaign rallied 38 businesses to collect cash and non-perishable goods as Central Smith drove their delivery trucks and collected the donated items on the same day they were delivered.
The campaign ran from Dec. 1 - 15 and beat the previous year’s goal of 5,000 pounds and $9363.50.
“Just given what's happened with the economy with food prices and all of that, I'm just amazed that we were able to be successful in our campaign,” said Jenn Scates, Central Smith Creamery co-owner. “With the work of my team and everybody contributing, it's not just one person, it's a whole bunch of elves that helped and it's just amazing.”
“It's been difficult for us to stretch our dollars as far as it once did but it's also difficult for our donors to continue to donate as much as they did in the past,” said Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager. “We know times are tough, we know food costs are extremely high and so to see this many people donate this many items is so heartwarming this time of year and we really appreciate the support.”
The timing for the donations could not have been better for KFS as the demand for food banks goes up during the holiday season according to Aitken. She says Christmas is an added expense that not all families can afford.
“Heat and hydro bills are up, kids are home from school, there's a couple of extra meals they have set them up with there, there's just a lot of added expenses to families that are already struggling and already don't earn enough money for their families,” explained Aitken. “Every little donation goes a long way. Something like this where they're bringing in thousands of pounds of food for us, it really helps us stock the shelves at the food banks before we get into that busy crazy season.”
