Businesses in Williams Lake teamed up on Friday, Oct. 8 to collect donations for the Salvation Army to help families enjoy a Thanksgiving meal this weekend.
A large table was set up outside of FreshCo with ready-to-go bags containing food items like pasta and soup available to purchase for $5 or $10. A “Sponsor a Family” option complete with a turkey, potatoes and more was available for $40.
Beside the table was a white bin where customers could also drop off non-perishable items of their choice.
They were delivered to the Salvation Army in a SUV from Cariboo GM.
“Marnie came up with this wonderful idea of doing a food drive just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend to help those in need in our community,” said Cathy Poole, a salesperson with Cariboo GM.
Read More: Keep Thanksgiving dinner small and vaccinated, Dr. Henry urges
“Everybody has been hit pretty hard over the past couple of years, so I think it’s important to give back when we can.”
Late in the afternoon Poole said Cariboo GM would be donating $900 for hampers through their business-to-business challenge that challenged local businesses to donate $150 in cash that they had matched.
FreshCo store owner Marnie Millership said she always like to give back to the community.
“This was obviously an important weekend,” Millership said, noting they had learned earlier that the Salvation Army had only 103 Thanksgiving hampers available.
“So today we’ll be able to do more — that’s why we do it.”
Before 4 p.m. when the food drive was set to wrap up both Millership and Poole remarked on the ‘amazing’ support from the community.
“It’s always nice in a small town,” Poole said. “Everyone always comes together.”
Non-perishable food donations will continue to be accepted inside FreshCo.
Read More: Third-dose Thanksgiving: immunocompromised guests still wary of gatherings
Do you have a comment about this story? email:
rebecca.dyok@wltribune.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.