Thanks to the generosity of local residents, thousands of dollars’ worth of food donations will be going to those who need it most.
Approximately $12,500 of combined food and monetary donations has been raised during this year’s Kent Federation of Agriculture (KFA) food drive.
The KFA held the food drive Tuesday morning in support of the Salvation Army and Outreach for Hunger, in honour of Canada’s Agriculture Day.
KFA event coordinator Mary Anne Udvari said the total amount raised on Tuesday, exceeds last year’s event by more than $4,000.
“We are so grateful to all of the individuals who donate, our community is so very generous every year,” she said. “Most of the people who have given in the past are certainly more than willing to do it again every year. So we just have to ask once and they come to the plate every single time.”
Udvari added that fundraising events like this one are all the more important during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“It certainly does lend to a more dire situation for people,” she said.
Formally known as Food Freedom Day, the food drive gives producers an opportunity to share their products and help consumers draw a closer connection to where their food comes from and the people who produce it.
“With farmers, we tend to have so much available in this community… we have so many businesses that produce goods and services. So we’re able to ask them and through asking, we’ve received so many [food] donations and monetary donations,” said Udvari.
All monetary donations will be divided between the Salvation Army and Outreach for Hunger to purchase food products, such as ground pork.
Chatham-Kent is home to a $4 billion dollar agriculture and agri-food industry, responsible for more than 16,000 jobs.