The Helping Through Sharing Network that launched out of the Lake Country Food Bank in 2017 hosted its first ever fundraiser on May 29, a tournament at the Okanagan Golf Club.
Executive Director of the Lake Country Food Assistance Society Joy Haxton has been the driving force behind the network. She said it started organically as a way to eliminate food waste and help food banks in B.C.'s interior keep their communities well fed.
"It was awareness as far as I was concerned," Haxton said when asked about a fundraising goal. Funds were coming in though, with over 100 golfers registered in the tournament and a sponsor for all 18 holes.
"What I was excited about was having our Helping Through Sharing members at the holes, so that when the golfers go through they can hear the stories and have an understanding on just the impact of sharing food."
With the purchase of a new refrigerated truck, Haxton and the board members at the Lake Country Food Bank set up the golf tournament to raise funds to cover operating costs.
"That truck is going to go up and down the valley picking up and dropping off food," Haxton said the funds will pay for insurance, gas, and maintenance.
The Helping Through Sharing Network
Plans for the Helping Through Sharing Network started in 2016.
"It was hearing the stories of the smaller food banks that didn't have access to food that got the network started," said Haxton, noting that food banks are restricted to raising funds and collecting food within the community they support so as to not take away or compete with other food banks.
The Kamloops Food Bank has been a powerhouse in food recovery, Haxton said, so she went to them to learn more. After solidifying a name, the network became official in 2017 and has since grown to include over 30 food banks and organizations in the interior of B.C.
"What food recovery is, it's an option for stores to distribute healthy food, that perhaps is close-dated, with the confidence it's going to get to the people that need it," President and CEO of the Kamloops Food Bank Bernadette Siracky explained. Through the FoodShare program, Siracky said they have been able to divert more than 25-milion pounds of food from the landfill since it began in 2007.
"The work that's being done here in Lake Country and the region through Joy is very special," Siracky said, calling Haxton a dynamo. "Her vision is that not one pound that could go to humans goes anywhere else."
Learn more about the Helping Through Sharing Network and its member organizations by visiting lakecountryfoodbank.org.
