he BC Thanksgiving Food Drive began in 2009 in the city of Burnaby to assist the local food bank. It has now expanded province wide and is able to assist dozens of community food banks serving over 50 cities and many thousands of needy individuals and families throughout British Columbia. In 2014, over 400,000 lbs of food was collected by more than 6000 volunteers (valued at approx. $900,000) and
was sorted and delivered to community food banks. Our goal this year is to collect over 600,000 lbs of food. This year’s food drive takes place from Sept 14th – 19th and we anticipate more volunteer participants from dozens of partnering businesses, churches and volunteer organizations who will visit some 250,000 addresses across the province that week. The BCTFD is a non-denominational project and is open to all interested individuals, community groups, religious organizations, businesses or others who wish to join us in helping attend to the needs of the hungry in our province. We are always recruiting volunteers to help with planning and organizing our events or completing collection routes. We are also looking to partner with organizations whose members are willing to participate en masse as volunteers, and sponsors who will contribute to our operational fund and our directed donation programs. All of our partners and volunteers are required to abide by the principles and regulations that underpin our project:
Our fundamental purpose is to raise as much material and financial support for local food banks as possible. Those participating in the BC Thanksgiving Food Drive may not impose ulterior agendas on any of our events. Our volunteers do not proselytize, sell, or promote any products or ideas which are not directly tied to our fundamental purpose. Community Partners attached to the BCTFD are permitted to promote their own involvement, but only through modest acknowledgments in our flyers and other public notices. We believe there are limitations to what public programs can do in terms of addressing issues such as poverty and hunger, and that responsibility for the well-being of communities – and societies – ultimately rests with their private citizens. The BCTFD does not accept any direct forms of government assistance. We also recognize that principles of charity and selflessness are best served by working for a good cause without expectation of material reward. As such, our project does not offer compensation for the value of any labor performed by its officers or volunteers. In order to protect our communities against fraud and other abuses, we conform to Food Banks British Columbia’s code of ethics. Most specifically, we do not solicit cash contributions door-to-door.
