Salvation Army food bank clients in Thompson will be getting a little something extra in their hampers in the coming months thanks to a $25,000 donation from the local Giant Tiger store and its owner, the North West Company.
Roy Bladen of the Salvation Army says the money, which is nearly half as much as the organization raised during its Christmas donation drive in 2019, will enable the food bank to include perishable items such as meat, vegetables and fruit in their monthly hampers.
“We really appreciate the company for doing this,” he said.
Store employees will also take the food bank’s orders over the phone and select the required items off the shelves so all that Bladen will have to do is go and pick it up, said Thompson Giant Tiger manager Cort Guertin.
Bladen said new applications for food bank hampers have levelled off since spiking when the COVID-19 pandemic reached Manitoba in March and that he hopes that by September the number of regular clients will drop down to the level it was at before the pandemic began. Though the food bank normally requires people to register and provide some information to qualify for a food hamper, during the pandemic it has provided them to anyone who requests one, no questions asked.
Two hampers will be distributed in July, one early in the month and one closer to the end, because the food bank will be closed down for the month of August.
“We need a vacation,” said Bladen.
