Valley View Alliance Church is holding its 15th annual Jingle Bell Blitz food drive for the Newmarket Food Pantry this month to help do their part in feeding the hungry.
The group will be set up outside Dickie's No Frills, 17255 Leslie St., Saturday, Nov. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Over the last 15 years, the church’s food drive has collected almost 50,000 pounds of food and this year will push them over that number.
Pastor Garry James says the church does it every year because Jesus said feed those in need and so that’s what they want to try to do, and it’s becoming an increasing need in the Newmarket community.
“Food insecurity is growing and a concern for all Canadians,” he said. “It’s difficult with the cost of living. Everything costs more.”
Along with the Jingle Bell Blitz food drive, the church has held a weekly community dinner for more than a decade and says the numbers have increased by 30 per cent at those dinners from the summer to the fall this year.
“We see it all over,” he said. “Food insecurity is an issue that’s not going away and the food pantry is a stop-gap measure.”
James said that while others who are able to work on a long-term solution for the issue, those that are able can step up and help the people in need now.
“We figure we can make a dent and help,” he said.
While the nearly 50,000 pounds of food donated by the church through Jingle Bell Blitz is jaw-dropping, James says the thing that boggles his mind is that there’s not more food drives in the community given the need.
“When we started, our donation would give them enough for two months in the food pantry,” he said. “Now, the need has risen so much that even though our donation has grown, it only gives them enough for less than a month.”
James says food drives are such an easy way to help that he’s hopeful more and more community groups and organizations will do annual food drives.
“We could easily have the food pantry filled all year long if everybody did one and there was one a month,” he said. “We love doing it.”
The public awareness aspect of the food drive is also important, James said, with it bringing food insecurity to the attention of the community.
“Every little bit helps and anybody can make a dent,” he said. “It takes the whole town to serve the whole town and we all have a part to play.”
Those who go to Dickie’s No Frills on Nov. 25 will be offered a brown paper bag with a list of what the food pantry needs for the upcoming month and can purchase as many of the items as they’d like to donate.
After donating, the church will give those who contribute to the food drive a gift as a thank you.
