CBC Calgary's 40th Make the Season Kind campaign raises more than $2M for Calgary Food Bank
Food bank CEO says she was 'blown away' by the number of donations
In a year filled with concern over the rising cost of living and a drop in donations for charities across Canada, locals helped CBC Calgary raise more than $2 million for the Calgary Food Bank — one of the largest totals the annual fundraising drive has seen in recent years.
“We're delighted by the community support for the Calgary Food Bank and the role that CBC Calgary plays in bringing people together to help Calgarians wrestling with food insecurity,” said Tracy Johnson, CBC Calgary’s director of journalism and programming.
“For 40 years our audience has played a key role in supporting food banks and we're so grateful for that.”
Make the Season Kind is a nationwide CBC initiative to support local food banks and other charitable organizations during December.
This year, alongside other special events and the ever-popular coffee sales, CBC Calgary invited the public to The Ampersand on Dec. 18 for a full day of programming devoted to the campaign, with live music and interviews with special guests.
For its 40th year supporting the food bank, CBC Calgary set a donation goal of $1.5 million. The food bank’s final tally showed the campaign surpassed that goal, raising $2,021,125.52 over the course of December.
Melissa From, chief executive officer of the Calgary Food Bank, told the Calgary Eyeopener’s Loren McGinnis on Tuesday she was concerned that given the current affordability crisis it would be challenging to reach that goal.
“I try to be the eternal optimist, but I wasn't sure we were going to make it this year because the trends we're seeing are that giving is down. Every day folks are struggling,” From said. “I was honestly blown away by the number of surprises that we had this year that went into this $2 million.”
Several significant donations came from longtime partners, From said, but foot traffic during the main event also led to many individuals making donations in person.
“They learned [about it] and then they would head over to the food bank and make really significant personal donations kind of out of nowhere.”
From said the food bank feeds more than 800 households a day. Each year, the organization spends $10 million on staples for its food boxes to supplement what gets donated, and this money will go a long way in supporting that, she said.
“This is going to make sure that we can buy the milk, the eggs, the fresh produce, the protein that folks need to be healthy and thriving, and not just surviving,” From said.
Looking ahead, she hopes Calgarians will remember that the need for the food bank’s services continues all year long.
