Food Banks Launch Holiday Hunger Campaigns

Barrie Food Bank has launched its Hunger Free Holidays campaign, aiming to raise $1 million and collect 500,000 pounds of food as demand climbs. It reported 7,893 client visits last month—four times the level five years ago—and a $50,000 gift from Sandra Bertram and Barsand Holdings Ltd. will match community donations up to that amount. In Michigan, the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan is seeking $1 million for its holiday campaign, serving a region where more than 234,000 people face food insecurity; a Flint church’s weekly distribution now helps hundreds more families than before. Genisys Credit Union will match online donations on Giving Tuesday, and the food bank says each dollar can provide six meals. The Idaho campaign and other holiday food-bank drives are unrelated to these local campaigns.