Annual Report 2022

Executive Director's Message
Bernadette Siracky

In November of 2021 as we watched the steel arrive for our building – we started receiving calls to help the folks experiencing the latest catastrophic weather event – the atmospheric river in the Fraser Valley and a once in a century flood in Merritt. We moved 200 pallets of product from the Dollarama site and 2 off-site storage areas to our new building in February and quickly filled any left-over spots with product from Unico, Tim Hortons and Quaker. We also easily filled our new walk-in cooler and freezer donated from Target with increasing amounts of perishable donations from the stores.

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President's Message
Tina Peters

What a year! We began our fiscal year in September 2021 at the tail end of our wildfire season and still under strict COVID restrictions. Then in mid-November the province was hit with severe flooding and slides that shut down the Coquihalla Highway. This resulted in public hoarding that briefly impacted the ability to source perishable food. Once again, Kamloops Food Bank stepped up to support the affected communities. They accepted and stored donations on their behalf and distributed them to those in need.

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2022 By The Numbers

Who We're Getting Food To

General Stats

Events

Rotary
Food Drives

The spring and fall Rotary Food Drives continue to take place annually in Kamloops. Rotarians have been canvasing the entire city since 2008 to collect yellow bags of donations. Rotarians gathered 94,000 pounds of non-perishable food in 2022. This is a retail value of almost $300,000.

B-100 Basics
For Babies

Basic for Babies returned to an in-person breakfast hosted by B-100 and CFJC-Midday. The donations received at this event ensure the consistent availability of baby food, formula, diapers and hygiene products for children under the age of three.

CP
Holiday Train

The community was ready for the CP Holiday Train's first visit in Kamloops since 2019, with the purpose of increasing awareness of Food Bank usage across the Country and encouraging financial and food donations from local individuals and businesses.

Programs

We provide packages of school snacks to families with school age children on a weekly basis. School snacks include healthy lunchbox additions such as granola bars and fruit cups.

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This collaborative effort with SD73 provides food to children that have been identified as not having enough to eat for the weekend. 170 backpacks are filled each week with easy-to-prepare, nutritious items by volunteers at the food bank.

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Children under three years of age receive a monthly supply of diapers, formula, baby food and hygiene products. The availability of these items removes a large financial stressor for families and ensures that infants in our community have the nutritous food they require for healthy physical development.

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Sharing Food
Feeding Hope

We are proud to offer our clients weekly access to healthy food.

Perishable
Available once per week, these hampers include items such as dairy, meat, produce, bread and premade deli meals.

Single, Couple, Family
Available once per month, these non-perishable hampers are prepared in various sizes to suit different household types and include pantry staples such as rice, noodles, soup, canned meat and canned vegetables.

High Protein, Pre/Post-Natal
Clients requiring a high protein diet as indicated by their physician receive high protein items or an increased opportunity to access perishable food items.

Transient
These hampers contain items that can be opened without a can opener and products which require minimal preparation.

foodSHARE is one of the largest food recovery programs operated by a food bank in Western Canada. We now collect all close dated perishable product including dairy, meat, bread, produce and deli items from all major grocery stores in Kamloops.

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Community
Food Distribution

Agencies

  1. 7th Day Merrit
  2. ASK Wellness (Triple A)
  3. ASK Wellness (Crossroads)
  4. ASK Wellness (Bridgeway)
  5. ASK Wellness (Lamplighter)
  6. ASK Wellness (Maverick Manor)
  7. ASK Wellness (Panorama)
  8. ASK Wellness (Shop Program)
  9. Boys and Girls Club (Family Dinner)
  10. Boys and Girls Club (Youth)
  11. Centre for Seniors Information
  12. Child Development Centre
  13. E-Fry Family Stepping Stones
  14. E-Fry Supportive Housing
  15. Equality Project-Cache Creek
  16. Family Resource Centre
  17. GardenGate
  18. Hopewell Clinic
  19. ICS (Babies Headstart)
  20. ICS (Families First)
  21. ICS (First Steps)
  22. ICS (Mt. Paul Food Centre)
  23. ICS (Youth Street Outreach)
  24. Interior Health (King Street)
  25. Kamloops Native Housing
  26. Lii Michif
  27. Pit Stop Meal Program
  28. River of Life
  29. The Loop Program
  30. The Mustard Seed
  31. The Reach Kamloops
  32. The Blue House Meal
  33. Vision Quest

Schools

  1. AE Perry Elementary
  2. Arthur Hatton Elementary
  3. Arthur Stevenson Elementary
  4. Beattie Elementary
  5. Bert Edwards Elementary
  6. Brocklehurst Middle School
  7. Dallas Elementary
  8. David Thompson Elementary
  9. Four Directions Secondary
  10. Kay Bingham Elementary
  11. KSA
  12. Marion Schilling Elementary
  13. Norkam Secondary
  14. Parkcrest Elementary
  15. Pinantan Elementary
  16. RL Clemitson Elementary
  17. Savona Elementary
  18. South Kamloops Secondary
  19. Summit Elementary
  20. Westsyde Secondary

Associate Member Food Banks

  1. 100 Mile House
  2. Ashcroft
  3. Barriere
  4. Chase
  5. Clearwater
  6. Lillooet
  7. Logan Lake
  8. Lytton
  9. Merritt

Retail Supporters

  1. Cain's Independent Grocery
  2. Costco
  3. Groupco Bimbo
  4. Fresh Co.
  5. Fresh St. Market
  6. LCNS
  7. LCS
  8. London Drugs
  9. Market Fresh
  10. Nature's Fare
  11. Safeway
  12. Save-On Brock
  13. Save-On Lansdowne
  14. Save-On Sahali
  15. Save-On Valleyview
  16. Save-On Westsyde
  17. Shoppers Drug Mart Valleyview
  18. Shoppers Drug Mart N. Shore
  19. Starbucks Valleyview
  20. Superstore
  21. Walmart
  22. 7-Eleven Summit
  23. 7-Eleven Brock
  24. 7-Eleven Seymour St.
  25. 7-Eleven 8th St.

Welcoming Our
New Regional
Distribution Hub

Recognized as Essential Service
Covid-19 demanded a significant shift in our operations as regional, provincial, and federal governments recognized us as an ‘essential service’ for the most vulnerable in the communities we serve.

We Shifted Fast
Changing health protocols meant we modified our space, retrained staff and clients and reduced our volunteer numbers. Fundraisers went online and most importantly, we were serving individuals who had never before needed the Food Bank.

Unparalleled Need & Support
As weeks turned to months, our challenges evolved. Each met with unparalleled support. The response was like none other.

The Challenge That Remains
Despite this support, we faced a continued challenge - storage! We had been operating with multiple off-site rented storage solutions.

Directing Resources Toward Sustainable Future
Simple economics prohibits long term rental of off-site warehouse space. We must be ready for what the future brings. Solving our storage issue is part of ensuring our sustainability.

Strategic Plan 2022-2024

Download the Strategic Plan
IMPORTANT NOTICE
We are closed Today - Nov 7 due to treacherous road conditions.