Two cultures come together for a local good cause
The Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre was one of the busiest spots downtown on Saturday as volunteers handed out Christmas hampers.
Laurie O’connor, executive director of the Food Bank in Saskatoon, said the lineup at the start of Saturday morning stretched from the entrance near the corner of Avenue C and 21st Street all the way down past 20th Street.
“Folks are just really super thankful to have a fresh meal to share with their family ... or something special to do on (Christmas) day,” she said. “My heart is full when I leave from here on this day.”
The Christmas Hamper Day is an annual event for the food bank, where volunteers prepare thousands of hampers filled with items such as fresh fruit and ham to give out to individuals struggling to put food on the table at Christmas.
O’connor said the Food Bank was expecting, and prepared for, more than 3,000 people to go to the main building on Avenue C to pick up a hamper.
She also said it was difficult to see the number of seniors who arrived to claim a hamper, but added that the hamper day was one of the biggest and most important days of the season for the food bank.
“Hours upon hours of preparation have gone in,” she said. “Probably 500 volunteers over the course of the week have been helping us prepare for this.”
Inside the building, hundreds of green grocery bags lined rows of tables in the warehouse. Just past a nearby curtain volunteers packed hampers and loaded them to be distributed to those waiting in line.
Mayor Charlie Clark also made an appearance, greeting visitors in line with a smile and a handshake.
The holiday season is always busy for the food bank. Not only is it organizing larger giveaways like the hamper day, but it’s also taking in more donations than any other time of year. O’connor said the food bank aims to get 500,000 pounds of food and $500,000 in donations before Dec. 31, noting that it relies on holiday donations going into the new year.
“You just see smiles on everybody’s faces because we know we don’t have to stress about the amount of food that goes out the door because we have lots.”