Greater Vancouver Food Bank delivers 5,000 lbs of food to Hope

Food banks across the province are working together to get emergency supplies to those who need them most.

Among them is Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB), which delivered 5,000 pounds of food to flood-ravaged Hope Thursday.

People stuck in their homes and on the roads have needed food deliveries to continue sustaining themselves. Destroyed delivery routes are causing disruptions to the supply chain in grocery stores, further exacerbating food shortages in heavily flooded areas.

The province is asking British Columbians to avoid hoarding food so everyone can stock their fridges until the rough weather and consequential damage clear.

Yesterday we gave 5,000 lbs of food and supplies to Camp Hope and Hope Food Bank.

We'd like to give a huge thank you to the first responders who came out to help us load the food, Contour Helicopters, and donors for making this possible.

#BCFloods pic.twitter.com/AhKjPpj4Ms

— Greater Vancouver Food Bank (@VanFoodBank) November 19, 2021

The GVFB sent the delivery after Hope Food Bank and Camp Hope reached out with a list of needed supplies. The same day, an anonymous company offered up their pilots and helicopters for free. 

They delivered the package on Thursday morning.

Among the team was a furry companion who helped make the journey to Hope.

 “As soon as we heard about the floods, our team immediately reached out to food banks in the affected areas to offer food support,” said Jodie Ou with the GVFB.

Several team members, two first responder volunteers, and even the food bank’s own Mr. Bentley the dog were on hand to help. It took five trips and a team of volunteers.

Hope isn’t the only area they’re willing to assist as heavy rainfall and flooding create crises across B.C. The GVFB says they’re ready to help any community in need as the situation evolves. They say they’re keeping in touch with other food banks across the province to get an idea of what they need and to help deliver it.

Related Articles: 

• Sikh relief organization offers aid across flood-ravaged B.C.

• Surrey volunteers prep 3,000 meals to deliver to Hope by helicopter

• B.C. storm disrupts supply chain, grocery store aisles go bare

Other organizations continue to provide aid as well, including a Sikh relief organization that has also been busy dropping packages to people in Vancouver, Kelowna, Kamloops, Abbotsford.

Food insecurity in Canada is only going to get worse, according to a report from Food Bank Canada examining food bank use in the country. That’s irrespective of recent flooding, which is creating issues across the province. 

The report found more Canadians were making use of food banks, up 20 per cent from March 2021. Several food banks in large cities like Toronto also saw a spike in usage, with many of their patrons unemployed due to the pandemic. 

The report also found that one-third of food bank users in Canada are children.

The GVFB is documenting their deliveries on Tiktok.