President's Message

Tina Peters
President

What a difference a year makes! Challenges met, hard work completed and many reasons to celebrate. When I wrote our message for 2022, I truly believed that were turning a corner. The health issues surrounding the pandemic was lifting. A year later the increases in inflation and high interest rates have resulted in record numbers accessing our services.

As anticipated, we have experienced a significant increase in client’s needing the Kamloops Food Bank. We are experiencing significant increases in all sectors but particular in seniors and children under five. With high inflation and interest rates, many are turning to the Food Bank for the first time.

We began the year with a complete governance review. After a full risk assessment, we updated our Governance Handbook to ensure all risks are mitigated.

We enjoyed face to face fundraising events once again. B100 Basics for Babies and the CP Holiday Train were extremely successful. We are so blessed to be supported by such a generous Kamloops community.

We celebrated the 15-year anniversary of our Executive Director, Bernadette Siracky. We so appreciate her leadership, vision, passion and wisdom. She continuously challenges the status quo to ensure we are well positioned to face any issue or take advantage of any opportunity that may arise.

We are thankful for the Rotarians in our community and the generosity of Kamloops. We are so grateful for the much-needed donations from the two successful Rotary Food Drives this fiscal year. To support our environment, we said goodbye to our signature plastic bags and embraced our new paper bags. The downpour of rain this fall put our paper bags to the test but did not dampen spirits.

This fall, we were honoured and pleasantly surprised to receive two awards at the 2023 Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards in October. We were delighted to be awarded the Open Door Group Inclusive Leadership Award. Bernadette recited a beautiful poem that she wrote and our 94-year young volunteer Lillian spoke eloquently from the podium and received a standing ovation. In addition, we were so delighted to be the first not-for-profit organization to receive the Fit Financial Business of the Year Award!! We often say that we are “not-for-profit on the outside but all business on the inside.”

Unfortunately, the economic outlook for the foreseeable future is not expected to improve. We are well positioned to support our community. I am confident and encouraged that the Kamloops Food Bank will continue to be resilient and adaptable. These skills are key as we continue to navigate through our current future economic conditions.

I am grateful that we continue to maintain a strong financial position. We are so thankful for our generous donors.

Lastly, I so appreciate our team, volunteers and fellow board members. This synergy makes our Food Bank strong and resilient. I look forward to our next year of challenges, hard work and celebrations.