Food or Financial Donations - Which are More Helpful?

South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry Association is the operator of the Ashcroft Food Bank, which provides food to those in need living throughout our catchment area. We recently added an easy-to-use Donate Now button to our website. This allows anyone to easily donate money through CanadaHelps, a registered charity that supports charities throughout Canada by providing quick disbursements, accurate reporting, and current financial technology. Donating through CanadaHelps ensures your money reaches us fast. Instant tax receipts are provided as well. We greatly appreciate every dime that comes our way as we endeavour to end hunger and help provide healthy, much-needed food throughout our area of service.

One question we are occasionally asked is whether food or money is more helpful to the food bank. The short answer: money. Here's why:

    • Nutrition. While kids and grownups alike enjoy treats and candy, the health of our clients is our top priority, and that means providing fresh, whole foods as often as possible is our goal. We are grateful for all our food donations, but we know that donating fresh foods such as eggs, dairy, fruits, and vegetables is difficult. Cash donations allow us to purchase fresh, nutritious foods that we then pass on to clients.
    • Benefits to Wholesale Purchasing. What’s better than one can of pineapple? A whole case of pineapple, of course. With cash donations, we can purchase food in large quantities at wholesale rates, allowing us to stretch your donation dollars and help more people in the process. We also often have access to special pricing and discounts that allow us to buy surplus foods at a highly reduced rate.
    • Cash Never Goes Bad. There is no expiry date on cash and it doesn’t need to be sorted. This reduces volunteer time spent sorting and ensures that money is spent on items that are most needed.
    • Variety. Have you heard the phrase, “Eat the rainbow?” It’s good advice. A well-balanced diet is one that includes a large assortment of foods from all different food groups. Having cash in hand allows us to facilitate healthy, tasty meal options for our clients that ensure they will have nutritious options from a variety of sources. We know what we need and your monetary donations help us provide those much-needed items to our clients.
    • Other Costs. While food banks are committed to providing food, there are other costs associated with running a food bank that edible donations don’t cover. Often food donations need to be picked up and distributed. With the ever-rising cost of gas, your monetary donation helps us access donations we would not otherwise be able to access.

Our food bank runs year-round, so if you're wondering when is the best time of year to donate, any time is a good time. Hunger doesn’t only exist on holidays. Check out our blog post about why to donate at times other than only holidays.

Learn more about the Ashcroft and Area Food Bank or donate today.

Our food bank currently operates on the first and third Wednesday of every month from noon to 2:30pm.