"Holy smokes!" Food for All raises nearly $6,000 for Rhineland and Area Food Bank

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday at Sun Valley Co-op's food store in Altona for the second Food for All event. Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, together we raised $5,725 for the Rhineland and Area Foodbank. 
    
"Holy smokes! I was here this morning, and we were at $1,000 and I thought that was awesome," said Angelika Stoesz, Chair of the foodbank, when she stopped in at the end of our day and got an update on the donations that had come in. 

"That money will be coming right back here. We'll be buying groceries. We buy a lot of groceries," she added. 

The Rhineland and Area Foodbank experienced a 35% increase in total client visits in 2023, serving a total of 2,638 client family visits. That averaged to 52 per week versus 38 per week in 2022. Through March of this year, the Rhineland and Area Foodbank is averaging 57.

"Our community steps up to the plate every time," noted Stoesz, adding she's surprised yet not surprised by the amount that was raised on Thursday. "We just put the word out and they come. We could not do what we do without this wonderful support."

Vickie Friesen, member relations coordinator for Sun Valley Co-op, popped by our booth throughout the day to see how things were going. With a mandate of feed, fuel and build community, she said it's all about coming together to accomplish those goals.

"Today has been fantastic," she said at the end of the day. "It's always great to see the community coming together and today was no exception. It blew my mind."

"We couldn't be here without the community. It's such a privilege to be in a community like this," added Friesen. "The whole mission of the Co-op is our profits go back into the community. So, without our members, we could not give back the way we do. Obviously, our community came through really strong today and I think that's something we can all be proud of."

Altona Mayor Harv Schroeder with CFAM Radio 950's Zack Driedger

Altona Mayor Harv Schroeder agreed. 

"If everybody can just share a little bit, it moves the community forward and helps those who might just need a little help," he said. 

Food for All continues next week. Our team from PembinaValleyOnline, including CFAM 950, Country 88.9 and The Eagle 93-5, will be at the Co-op food store in Morden on Thursday, May 2nd from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and this time around, we'll be supporting the Many Hands resource centre which is working to address food insecurity in the city.

With files from Connie Bailey and Zack Driedger

Left to right; CFAM Radio 950 Saturday Morning Host Eva Heide and Reporter/Anchor Candace Derksen