COLD LAKE - Cold Lake residents are coming together to restock the local food bank through a community-driven initiative.
Volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be collecting non-perishable food items as part of their annual effort to support the Cold Lake Food Bank on Sept. 28. The event provides an opportunity for neighbours to help one another, ensuring that those in need have access to essential supplies.
"It's just about neighbours helping neighbours. We were doing OK with boots-on-the-ground type of work, and so this is an area we thought we could help," said Tom Alston, communications director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cold Lake.
For one week leading up to the event, volunteers will deliver donation bags to homes in the Cold Lake area.
“We print flyers, letting people know the date, time, and the food items that the food bank is in particular need of,” Alston explained.
This year, Walmart has donated plastic bags, which will be distributed with flyers. Residents are encouraged to fill those bags with non-perishable food donations. The volunteers will then collect the filled bags left on doorsteps before 10 a.m. and bring them to the food bank for sorting.
The Cold Lake Food Bank is particularly in need of items such as cold cereal, canned tuna, canned fruit, beans, pasta sauce, toiletries, diapers, and formula.
Alston affirms that the group is not part of the food bank but is simply hoping to do its part to help restock needed items.
Alston encourages anyone who wants to get involved in the initiative to sign up through a website called Just Serve.
“We would love to have people join us,” he said, noting that volunteers from outside the church are welcome to help out. With around 150 volunteers from the church already committed, the involved are hoping to make a significant impact.
“At the end of the day, all we care about is that people in need get the resources that they need,” said Alston.
