This is the time of year where it is better to give than receive, but receiving also felt pretty amazing for the CMS Food Bank when it was presented with a $2,500 donation from the Mill Bay Community League.
The League has been serving the Mill Bay and Malahat community since 1945.
"We would like to take this time to recognize and thank all CMS volunteers currently on the front lines working to meet the basic needs of our neighbours, friends and relatives in their time of need," said Mill Bay Community League president Shane Ryan.
According to a 2024 report by Food Banks Canada, B.C. food banks are experiencing more than 225,000 visits each month, which is a 15 per cent increase from 2023, with children making up about one-third of users, accounting for more than 70,000 visits this year. Food Banks Canada also revealed that food banks nationwide recorded more than two million visits in March, which is a six per cent rise from last year and nearly double the number of visits nationwide in 2019.
CMS Food Bank, which is open Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Thursdays from 9 to 11 a.m., support the areas of Cobble Hill, Mill Bay, Malahat and Shawnigan Lake. Food hampers are distributed once a month and donations are always welcome.
"On behalf of the CMS Food Bank, we are very grateful to receive this donation from the Mill Bay Community League," said past president and current board member Michael King St.Clair. "Our need is up for a variety of reasons that are familiar to a number of people: rising grocery prices, supply issues, stubborn inflation, a lack of full-time employment options for working families, rising insurance prices, they all take their toll on our clients. Added to all that is the increasing possibility of international tariffs that are out of our control, which will affect Canadian food banks as it will everyone else. We truly are in uncharted waters as a food bank as far as that is concerned."
For those wishing to make a difference this holiday season visit their website at www.cmsfoodbank.ca for a list of their most needed and desired items.