The local St. John Ambulance branch is hosting its Fill an Ambulance food drive to raise funds and collect food donations for local food pantries ahead of Thanksgiving.
St. John Ambulance York Region is hosting two events in Aurora and another in Newmarket in the coming weeks. The organization is running a number of events in other communities, including Barrie, Georgina, Markham, Bracebridge, Keswick and Richmond Hill.
The event has been well supported by local residents in previous years, with the drive in Newmarket in 2022 collecting over 1,800 pounds of food.
The event comes at a time of high demand and low supply for the Aurora Food Pantry, where the number of clients coming by has stayed consistent during the summer months.
Elizabeth Matthews, program co-ordinator with the Aurora Food Pantry, said donations have ticked up in recent weeks — which usually happens close to Thanksgiving and the holiday season.
“We have seen some more donations from our community, but it’s just not quite enough to meet our need at the moment because the need is so high, we’re going through food at such a high rate.”
The first event is set to be held in Newmarket this Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Real Canadian Superstore at 18120 Yonge St.
The first Aurora event is being held the next day on Sept. 29 at No Frills at 14800 Yonge St.
The second Aurora event is being held on Oct. 13 at Metro at 1 Henderson Dr.
More information about the upcoming events can be found online.
