Fall marks the beginning of the busiest season for the Guelph Food Bank.
“The weather is getting colder. Families that are already having difficulty struggling to put food on the table are having to purchase extra clothing, snowsuits, boots, as well as they’re struggling with the cost of heat and hydro,” explained Tracy Marchesich, the community liaison facilitator with the Guelph Food Bank.
Their Thanksgiving food drive came up short this year.
“Our Thanksgiving food drive goal was 90 thousand pounds of food, and we are not at that weight right now, we’re just over 56 thousand pounds,” Marchesich said.
90 thousand pounds is needed to get the food bank through the busy Christmas season. Between 50 and 75 families depend on the Guelph Food Bank every day.
“We see six thousand to 15 thousand pounds out the door every morning to help those in need,” said Marchesich, who understands firsthand the importance of the food bank.
“My husband was working full time, I had to take a sick leave, and even though I had sick benefits, one of the medications that I was taking was $968 a month. So if the food bank wasn’t here and helping us out that would’ve been a choice between food or medication that saved my life,” she said.
The food bank is hoping the Trick-or-Eat program run by the University of Guelph will help them reach their goal.
“Every year on Halloween we have students that go into the Guelph community, and instead of trick or treating for candy, they trick or treat for canned goods and then all the donations get donated to the Guelph Food Bank,” said Genna Patterson with the University of Guelph.
“Last year we raised 49,105 pounds of food, so we’re trying to beat that goal this year,” Patterson said.
The food bank is asking the community to continue to help, by dropping off donations of non-perishable food items at grocery stores, fire halls or at the Guelph Food Bank location on Crimea Street.