For over 10 years once the Fall season hits, multiple youth groups from around the Rhineland area have joined together to support the Rhineland & Area Food Bank with a Fall Food Drive, this year it is happening on Wednesday, October 8th. Youth giving back Organizer and youth pastor Richard Bage touched on the joy of seeing youth give back to the community, "I love seeing kids that want to give back. It's great. Yeah, teenagers see a need in the community and they're willing to do their part to help out. At the same time, it's great knocking on doors and seeing how many people are willing to give this time of year so yeah whether it's residents that are donating or teens that are collecting it's uh one of those things where it seems like the whole community rallies together for an evening and pulls this off in a couple of hours." Food insecurity Angelika Stoesz, Board Chair of the Rhineland Food Bank talked about the current need in our community, "The numbers definitely keep going up. In summertime, it tends to level off, stable up a bit. I think we have a lot of garden produce available. And there's often... often more seasonal work around. But we are averaging, I would say, 65 to 70 families a week coming through. We all know that just by going to the grocery store ourselves, how much more it costs to feed your family. So I mean, if you have a large family and minimum wage job, it's not going to get you very far." Most needed items Ang also told us which items are most in need at the Rhineland Food Bank, "We do have a top 10 list. We have a menu of things that we have in stock every single week." - peanut butter - unsweetened cereal - tang, orange or grape juice - canned meat - canned vegetables - canned soups - rice - pasta - pasta sauce - canned tomatoes Cash/Cheque preferred Ang Stoesz also mentioned that cash or cheque would actually be preferred over canned goods, "I would say right now we spend upwards of $10,000 a month on groceries. So just having extra groceries come in and of course write a check to the food bank and that is always greatly appreciated. You get a tax receipt. We get a great discount at the grocery store so your money goes faster if the food bank spends it for you. It's much easier for us because then we get exactly what we need at a discounted price, and you get the receipt. So it's kind of win-win." When & Where When: Wednesday, October 8th, 7:00-9:00pm Where: Altona, Gretna, Schoenwiese, Kronsthal, Neuhorst, Rosetown, and Blumenort. Enjoy both conversations CFAM host Zack Driedger had with Richard Bage and Angelika Stoesz below: