The Westshore Town Centre is participating in an eight-month food drive. An empty store front has been transformed into a food bank with a mural of animated produce pushing shopping carts full of groceries.
The drive began in March and will continue until the end of October. So far, more than 700 pounds of food and $4,200 has been collected.
The challenge is part of a program happening at 17 shopping centres across Canada owned by Bentall Kennedy.
The national goal is to collect 20,000 pounds of non-perishables and $75,000 in cash.
“We want to keep the interest going and the money and food flowing,” said Laura Poland, the mall’s general manager.
After the food is brought into donation bins, located in the lobby outside Fairway Market, it is then passed onto the Goldstream Food Bank. Cash donations can be made at the administration office at Westshore Town Centre.
“The summer is our leanest time of the year,” said Gayle Ireland, president of Goldstream Food Bank.
“People are just as hungry in August as they are in December.”
Currently, many of the shelves at the food bank have run bare and all of the reserve food has already been given to people in need.
Another way to help out is to enter to win a year’s worth of food at the website farefightforfood.ca.
The mall with the most customers entering will receive an additional donation to their local food bank.
charla@goldstreamgazette.com