Food Bank’s Annual Syncrude Food Drive sees success despite lower volunteer turnout
The 26th Anniversary Syncrude Food Drive and Corporate Challenge took place this past weekend with the goal of raising funds and food donations for families across the Wood Buffalo region, ensuring no one goes hungry this winter.
The Syncrude Food Drive began with the Corporate Challenge on Thursday, November 29th with Syncrude kicking off the Corporate Challenge with a pledge of $85,000 live on radio stations Country 93.3 and Rock 97.9. Everyone was then encouraged to call in and donate throughout the day. Several organizations called in their donations throughout the day between 7am to 7pm to show their support for our city in this continuously challenging time. $230,664.00 was raised on-air that day, successfully kicking off this important milestone year of the annual event.
The Corporate Challenge was then followed by the Syncrude Food Drive from Friday, November 30th, to Sunday, December 2nd. Wilson generously donated all 10 trucks stationed at the local grocery stores and Wal-Mart, and we had our Wood Buffalo Food Bank van parked out at the Anzac Grocery Store. Over the three days the Food Drive raised an additional $46,163.82 in monetary donations, and 75,836 pounds of food.
The weekend saw 450 smiling volunteers in front of stores and in the warehouse, a decrease of almost 200 volunteers from the previous year. “We want to give a special shout-out to all of those volunteers who helped out this past weekend, especially those who took on double shifts to fill empty stores,” says Anna Noble, Communications and Development Manager. “We realize our volunteer base in the community is exhausted, and we appreciate those who came forward and gave their time when we were in urgent need. We could not have run this Food Drive without them.”
The 2018 Syncrude Food Drive and Corporate Challenge collectively raised a grand total of $276,827.82 in monetary donations, and 75,836 pounds of food, falling just shy of their goal of $350,000 and 80,000 pounds of food. Thank you to everyone who donated.
“We knew that the numbers this year would be lower than the last, as everyone is still feeling the effects of the economic decline as well as the event of 2016,” states Dan Edwards, Executive Director of the Wood Buffalo Food Bank. “We decided not to increase our goals this year, considering how much this community has been through, and we are so grateful of what we received. Our only concern is the demand for need remains high, and we see a challenging year ahead to keep up. However, Fort McMurray surprised us yet again, and even with so many going through tough times, we saw so much giving.”
A huge thank you to our sponsors; Syncrude for being the Title Sponsor, H. Wilson for the use of their trucks, Hertz for the use of their SUVs and cube van, Top Knotch Doors for their help doing pick-ups and for their grocery bags, Quality Inn and Starbucks for supplying coffee and hot water, Save-On Foods Thickwood for the volunteer snacks, Printing Unlimited for banners, and Rock 97.9 and Country 93.3 for being the media sponsor. Words cannot express how grateful the Board and Staff of the Wood Buffalo Food Bank are of the support received.
A list of the 2018 Syncrude Food Drive and Corporate Challenge sponsors will be found on the Wood Buffalo Food Bank’s website: www.woodbuffalofoodbank.com.
About the Wood Buffalo Food Bank Association
Established in 1983, the Wood Buffalo Food Bank Association provides programs and services that provide the resources and education necessary to ensure food security for all citizens in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. For more information, visit www.woodbuffalofoodbank.com
