Busy season for Christmas Hope

It took more work than ever to fulfil the City’s Christmas Hope this year.

Christmas Hope is the annual holiday campaign that sees the Interfaith Food Bank, Lethbridge Food Bank and Salvation Army working together over the holidays.

The groups come together in order to eliminate duplication of services and to make the most out of resources available, distributing both food hampers and Christmas gifts. This was the 11th year for the holiday partnership.

Organizers had planned on serving 1,800 households over the 2017 holiday season, which was about 10 per cent more than 2016.

Instead, they were hit with a 22 per cent increase amounting to 1,985 households. This included more than 2,200 children ages 17 and under who received toy bundles.

In all, nearly 5,000 individuals were assisted this Christmas, nearly half of whom were children.

This year, all three organizations had difficulties recruiting demand this holiday season, but stated in a recent news release that they were grateful the community did come through.

Prior to the Christmas break, Salvation Army was projecting a shortage of around $20,000 for their Christmas Kettles. Both local food banks also experienced a shortage in donations of food and funds.

Agencies issued a cry for help during the last week of distribution, and a number of community members stepped in to help in meet demand.

Traditionally, the three organizations see the bulk of their support take place during the holiday season, including surplus in food and funds required to meet the demands of the New Year.

Food stocks have returned to a more manageable state after the holiday rush, but they are expected to deplete quickly. Financial donations were down slightly in 2017 as well.

To ensure the groups are able to meet ongoing demands, they will be continuing their food and funding recruitment efforts into the New Year.

These efforts include a commitment to moving families past food bank lineups and connecting them with much-needed resources.