The Salvation Army in Williams Lake is asking the city to apply for a gaming grant on its behalf.
“If the city applied for gaming funds for a grant for the food bank, I suspect we could get $100,000. 100 Mile House received $60,000,” Salvation Army Captain Claudine Kadonaga told council during a presentation at its regular meeting Tuesday, Feb 5.
Hopeful the city will enter into a partnership, Kadonaga advised the funds would help because her staff is “burning out.”
“It’s hard on the sustainability side of things,” she said.
To receive accreditation for United Way funding, the Salvation Army will also establish a community advisory board, for which Kadonaga hopes city council will provide a representative.
The Salvation Army is serving 2,000 individuals a year, she added.
In 2012, they gave out $964,000 worth of food through the hampers and perishable goods program, and $148,000 in soup kitchen value serving meals and providing lunches to students at Marie Sharpe elementary school.
Council will discuss the request at a committee of the whole meeting, Mayor Kerry Cook said.