The Thompson Salvation Army received a large donation toward its food bank operations in April.
Pastors Lt. Amber Wareham and Lt. Brent Wareham, who took charge of Thompson operations last June, received $3,361.89 from Safeway store manager Dave MacDonald on April 14.
The money, which was raised at the store during December, is always needed, the Warehams said.
“It comes in from the community and goes right back out into this community,” said Amber.
While donating to the Salvation Army is front of mind during Christmas when volunteers are out at stores with donation kettles, that money has to fund food bank operations year-round, says Brent.
“Those people who are in need of food are in need … 12 months a year,” he said. “Special little occasions like this thing go a long way.”
Part of running the food bank involves co-ordinating with other organizations that distribute food in Thompson, like the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimanakak food bank, to ensure that they are feeding as many people as possible collectively.
“We try to make sure that we don’t have a situation where people aren’t going to get any and other people are going to multiple.” said Brent. “We try to make sure that everybody’s getting an equal share.”
It’s important that the Salvation Army uses donations wisely Amber says.
“We want to be responsible to the people who are giving money to us,” says Amber. “We want to make sure that everybody is getting what they need, not necessarily what they want.”
