Empty, overturned food bins and bare cupboards say all that needs to be said about the situation at the Lillooet Food Bank.
“We’ve got lots of cookies and cereal, but we’re out of some of our basic staples,” says Food Bank co-ordinator Violet Wager, gesturing towards overturned bins for rice, beans, noodles, canned tuna, soups and Kraft Dinner.
Wager says that with the arrival of fruit and vegetable season, the food bank is happily accepting donations of local produce.
“They’re just starting to come in,” she said.
The food bank is open all day Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in its location in the rear of the Friendly Treasures Thrift Store at 917 Main Street. Food donations can also be dropped off at the Lillooet Friendship Centre
Although the local food bank is not dependent on food from the Kamloops Food Bank, it and other small town food banks occasionally received assistance from Kamloops. On Aug. 2, a storage building belonging to the Kamloops Food Bank was set ablaze by a suspected arsonist. The resulting fire ruined as much as 5,000 kilograms of food, worth approximately $20,000.
