Church's drive helps stock food bank's shelves

An Okotoks-area church has shown plenty of faith in the community and its congregation in helping to feed those going through hard times.

The shelves of the Okotoks Food Bank were practically filled to capacity as tons of food was collected at the Okotoks Food Drive sponsored by the Okotoks Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Saturday.

“This is our opportunity to reach out far beyond the church and provide as much service as we can in supporting a great cause like this,” said Orin Harker, of the Okotoks LDS church.

There was a minor army of volunteers at the Okotoks South LDS church. Volunteers of all ages were bringing in food to the church parking lot.

After being unloaded, the food was sorted and then trucked to the food bank — where more volunteers were located to help stock the bare shelves there. They're bare no more. There was an estimated 30,000 pounds as of Monday afternoon — and still more coming in.

Sheila Hughes, food bank executive director, was overwhelmed as she watched the food come into the church.

“We are getting absolutely everything, from canned goods, to toiletries, diapers — everything we need,” Hughes said. “We are extremely low and we have been buying food lately.

“Significant is an understatement — it will likely get us to January.”

It's also emotional.

“Just to see so many people giving up their time, the hearts and the effort they are putting in is incredible,” Hughes said. “I am always amazed but never surprised at the generosity of the whole community in Okotoks it is second to none.”

While it was the LDS church members in Okotoks that did the majority of the legwork, it was the people of the community that provided the food, said Steven Cooper, of the LDS Okotoks church.

“The church is really just the vehicle to support the food drive, it is the community that makes it possible,” Cooper said. “We just supply the labour.”

That labour involved volunteers hanging yellow bags on door-handles at virtually every house in Okotoks prior to Saturday's food drive. Residents were asked to fill the bag with donations and place it bag on the door handle. The bags were then picked up by volunteers who delivered them back to the church on Saturday – the majority by noon.

It was done through precision mapmaking by Ayden Christensen, which would have impressed David Thompson. There were approximately 300 routes in which food was picked up.

“We had a vague idea of what the routes were, this year we made sure we knew which route was which and we will be able to use it again next year,” she said.

As for those bags that weren't used, they might be in the future.

Hughes said the food bank was receiving bags right up until Christmas last year from households that weren't able to donate the day of the drive.

Hughes said she feels blessed as the Okotoks Food Bank receives generous donations from churches, service groups and citizens throughout the year.

A similar food drive was held in High River, which was organized by the LDS church.