Avenue Living just one of recent donations to Moose Jaw Food Bank

Moose Jaw Avenue Living staff presented a donation of $2,500 to the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank near the end of April, which was only the most recent giant cheque presentation in a string of large and much-appreciated financial donations from the local area.

As part of a total $100,000 donation to food banks in communities where the Alberta-based housing company operates, Avenue Living’s donation joined a long list of local businesses and organizations offering support to the local food bank during these trying times.

“We’re certainly grateful for all of those businesses, and we’re equally grateful for every single person in Moose Jaw that has been giving to us financially, whether it’s $20 or $500,” said development manager Deann Little.

Moose Jaw Toyota also made a donation of $2,000, and SaskTel employees donated $500 that was meant to fund a summer employee party that had been cancelled due to COVID-19.

Both of the local A&W locations pledged to donate $1 from all their Teen Burger sales near the end of the month to the Food Bank. The Thunder Creek Pork Plant also made a large donation of $10,000, and K+S Potash employees gave $1,800 of their volunteer program wages in support. The Food Bank has also received donations from EECOL Electric, the Kinsmen Club of Moose Jaw, the Friendly City Optimist Club, Cargill, and local realtor Wally Meili, as well as many personal donations from local residents.

The financial donations have been wonderful to receive, said Little, especially as the Food Bank had to stop taking food donations for a time due to the ongoing pandemic concerns.

The Food Bank has been keeping up with demand lately but remain short-staffed and working hard to continue providing service to clients as usual. Little is always grateful for every donation that reaches the organization’s doors, as they are always in need of help to stock their shelves. “It’s just amazing to see the financial donations that we’ve had coming in. It makes such an incredible difference to us and what we can do here to help those in our community,” said Little. Currently, the Food Bank is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for hamper pickups, and clients are asked to call ahead to arrange a time for them to drop by.

Little also encourages people to reach out to the Food Bank if they have any questions about their food security program, or if they feel unsure of their eligibility. “A lot of people feel that maybe even if they’re working a little bit, or if they’re working period, that they can’t access our resources here and by all means, they can,” said Little. “So if anybody has questions, we definitely want them to reach out so that we can help them get the help they need.”

Food donations have also resumed, for those who would like to once again donate food items at any of the Food Bank bins located in the local grocery stores in Moose Jaw. Staff are collecting from those bins twice a week.

The Food Bank is also still encouraging the community to consider donating financially, as it leaves them able to purchase the food items they need in bulk — making every dollar donated stretch as far as it can go.

Those interested in providing a donation to the Food Bank can do so online through their website at mjfoodbank.org, by mailing a cheque to the Food Bank at 305 Fairford Street West, or via eTransfer to endhunger@mjfoodbank.org.

The Moose Jaw Food Bank can be contacted by phone during business hours at 1 (306) 692-2911, or by messaging the organization on their Facebook page.