The Penticton JCIs are holding an event this month to collect food and cash donations to help the food bank.
The ValleyDrive event is set to take place on April 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with customers at Save-On-Foods, Walmart, Safeway, Wholesale Club and IGA receiving lists of suggested item donations. Cash donations will also be accepted.
The items in demand this year are peanut butter, pasta sauce, rice, canned meats and tuna, fresh produce, potatoes and onions, SideKicks and Hamburger Helper, carrots, canned and dried soups, toilet paper and paper towels and macaroni and cheese dinners.
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Cam Betts, past entertainment chair with the Penticton JCIs, said last year’s drive brought in around 1,400 kilograms of food and approximately $800. He said the drive in April is needed since food bank stocks tend to drop off at this time of the year.
John Rankin, food bank manager with the Penticton Salvation Army, said the JCI food drive is an important event for the food bank.
“Now’s the time when we really need more donations,” he said, adding that the food bank supplies around 500 food hampers each month in Penticton.
In addition, the Salvation Army distributes more than 100 hampers to Cawston. Of those receiving help from the food bank, 30 per cent are children, Rankin said.