A group of local agricultural businesses has teamed up to help provide 200 Christmas dinners for those in need this season.
Southwest Agromart joined with Triple P Farms and Greg Blonde & Sons Ltd. on Thursday to donate a truckload of items to Chatham Outreach for Hunger.
Organizers said the Chatham-Kent community has shown the agricultural sector so much support that businesses wanted to give back.
“We said we need to do something, especially with the rising cost of food and the rising inflation,” Chelsea Zelina, Southwest Agromart’s marketing co-ordinator, said.
“People are using the food bank more than ever. We knew we wanted to help.”
The meals consist of ham, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, biscuits and dessert. Also donated were needed personal hygiene products, including diapers.
Zelina said employees were heavily involved in the initiative, which took several weeks.
“It was definitely a team effort,” she said. “We had people shopping, we had people loading. … Everyone had a really great time putting this all together.
“It was really important to make sure our community’s fed, especially this year.”
Brenda LeClair, executive director of Outreach for Hunger, said this year has seen a 48 per cent increase in families using its food bank on Wellington Street West.
She said the donation was “tremendous” and will go a long way.
“This is really going to help a lot,” she said. “(We’ve) had those who’ve never needed a food bank before. We’ve had families who maybe used the food bank years ago, and then were able to make it on their own, but are now struggling again and coming back.
“We want them to have healthy food or they’re going to be resorting to whatever fills their bellies and not necessarily the best for them, which creates other health issues.”
For more information on Outreach for Hunger, call 519-351-8381 or visit www.outreachforhunger.com.