What鈥檚 the scariest thing you will encounter this Hallowe鈥檈n? Is it the ghouls and ghosts, spooky haunted houses and scary movies that define the season? Or will it be a struggle to put food on the table for your family? The Hunger is Scary food drive鈥檚 goal is to put a stop to that last fear.
Now in its fourth year, organizer Carrie Olson said that their goal is to put food on the shelves of the Salvation Army Food Bank for a full year. Last year, the 42 volunteers managed to put food on the shelves for five months, said Olson, and their goal is to have enough volunteers to be able to cover the entire city.
鈥淭o think, that was just 42 volunteers. We maybe covered 20 streets. If we could cover Yorkton, we realistically could provide food for the Food Bank, the Soup Haven, everybody would have enough.鈥�
How does the drive work? It鈥檚 just like trick or treating, explains Olson, except instead of candy, they鈥檙e asking for a donation for the food bank. It鈥檚 something that the family can do together, but she notes there鈥檚 no age limit.
They鈥檙e looking for non-perishable food. She notes that the people of the community have been gracious when they come to the door, and she notes that many people can find something in the cupboards to help, and are gracious if they can鈥檛.
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably costing them less than the candies they鈥檙e giving to one of the kids.鈥�
That鈥檚 also the advantage of doing the drive on Hallowe鈥檈n, Olson said, because people are prepared for kids coming to the door, while at other times of the year it might be a problem.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great night to do it, you鈥檙e not interrupting anything. Hallowe鈥檈n tends to be a night where people focus on the dark, on mischief, and that kind of stuff, and we just wanted to focus on something good on Hallowe鈥檈n. Do something that has a lasting effect.鈥�
If you want to volunteer, get in contact with Olson at [email protected], or by finding her by searching Hunger is Scary on Facebook. While anyone can do it, she notes that they want to organize which streets people cover because they don鈥檛 want to go to the same homes multiple times, and instead spread out over the entire city.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 make sense to have the same street hit three times, while another doesn鈥檛 have anybody.鈥�
Olson recommends people go out between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., the same as prime trick or treating hours. At the end of the night, everyone meets at the Family Worship Center to have hot chocolate, collect the donation in one place, and talk about their night.
But what about people whose streets weren鈥檛 visited? They can still make a donation as part of the food drive. Locations for donations are Cornerstone Credit Union, Bank of Montreal, Good Earth鈥檚 Shop, Family聽 Worship Center, Salvation Army and CORE Realty will all be accepting donations as part of the drive.
