This year’s Better Together Food Drive helped raise 44,216 pounds of non-perishable food items to support the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank, thanks to more than 400 volunteers and the generosity of Moose Javians.
After a busy night of sorting and packing, the food bank received two truckloads of edible cargo, with the first arriving at around 8:30 a.m., followed by a second around 11 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 1.
“Our number from last night was 44,216 lbs.,” said Karen MacNaughton, Hillcrest Church administrator and food drive organizer. “However, there’s six more bags sitting up there on the table, and more, because maybe people weren’t home… but they still want to give.”
The food bank counts all donations for the drive in the final tally, which means the number is expected to grow as more donations trickle in over the following weeks.
The Better Together Food Drive is organized each year by the Hillcrest Apostolic Church.
“We’re a church that loves Moose Jaw, and we love our community,” MacNaughton said.
“In 2006, there was a big push to do something significant in the community that was bigger than just our church. A city-wide food drive was the idea that came up, and that was the first year that we started this particular project,” MacNaughton explained.
Daycee Richardson, Hillcrest’s community advocate and a food drive organizer, said a staff member saw a similar campaign elsewhere and felt the idea could work in Moose Jaw. After the campaign was trialled, it proved to be an immediate success with 35,786 lbs. of food donated in the initial 2006 run.
The name ‘Better Together’ was chosen to highlight the spirit of community members working together to achieve something big.
When the campaign started 18 years ago, the Moose Jaw Food Bank was in a smaller building, and the church’s donation accounted for over half of the donated food. Today that number is less than half, due to increased donations from individuals and a growing list of additional charitable efforts.
“We think it really played a part in helping increase their capacity to serve the community, and Moose Jaw continues to be so generous – we’re just ‘wowing’ over this year’s number because it’s higher than last year, and we know that food costs more than the food last year. We’re recognizing that people really gave sacrificially and generously,” said Richardson.
Local businesses help by sponsoring the drive to cover its overhead expenses. At least 350 volunteers are then organized into routes, given a map of their area, and they go door to door collecting donations.
Volunteers then assemble at the Exhibition Grounds to help sort and package the donations. The site was chosen after the church’s gymnasium was quickly overwhelmed back in 2006.
“It’s just a hive of activity with 450-ish people sorting the food, boxing it, wrapping it on pallets, and getting it ready to be delivered the next day,” MacNaughton said.
To help make the transition as smooth as possible, volunteers sort and package the food into categories provided by the Moose Jaw Food Bank.
The donation comes at a time when the food bank is facing fewer items on its shelves, and in 2023 alone, the number of clients is up by around 39 per cent compared to 2022. Autumn is the time of year when a shortage at the food bank starts to become a real possibility.
Richardson explained that the timely donation helps carry the food bank over into the next year and allows them to gauge how much can be added to each client’s food hamper.
Given such a large amount of food to sort and package, volunteers handled the task efficiently. “I think I was in bed by 11:30 p.m.,” MacNaughton said.
“So, (that means) 44,000 lbs. of food (was) collected, sorted, boxed, wrapped on pallets, and loaded (to) fill a semi-trailer with the floor swept by 11:30 (p.m.),” she added.
To help with the heavy lifting, a few church volunteers provided a forklift, truck, and trailer to transport the goods from the fairgrounds to the food bank.
“They’re hard-working guys. That kind of detail is overwhelming for us to organize, but they’re just like, ‘don’t worry about it.’ That’s their world, and they love leaning in with that kind of stuff,” Richardson said.
“Vanier brings their Grade 9 students the morning of (to help as well) – that’s 70 or 80 students, (over) three busloads… They put boxes together, set up tables, and move pallets,” Richardson said in a statement of appreciation.
The food bank doesn’t organize its own food collection drives, which makes outside efforts such as the Better Together Food Drive significant for the community.
“Thank you to everyone who came together in a variety of different ways to make this a successful year for the Food Bank,” MacNaughton said. “People are important to God, and people are important to us. It’s just really neat when everybody works together to help vulnerable people in our community, so thank you Moose Jaw for your donation of food, time, and energy.”
If you would like volunteer for next year’s Better Together Food Drive, visit HillcrestMJ.com/FoodDrive or call the Hillcrest Apostolic Church at 306-692-5600.
The Hillcrest Apostolic Church is located at 1550 Main Street North.
The Moose Jaw & District Food Bank is located at 270 Fairford Street West and can be reached at 306-692-2911.
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