A Summerland resident has made a significant contribution to the Summerland Food Bank and Resource Centre.
Garry Hollingshead, a long-time resident and a member of the Rotary Club of Summerland, presented a cheque for $55,000 to the food bank.
The money is earmarked for food purchases.
鈥淭his outstandingly generous donation could not have come at a better time,鈥� said Janet Peake, president of the food bank society. 鈥淥ur community donations have been struggling to keep up with increasing demand. In the year ending July 31, the food bank provided food to 458 adults and 149 children in 320 households.鈥�
Hollingshead has been involved with the food bank and the Rotary Club. He has also worked on international efforts.
He and his late wife Marion travelled to the Rift Valley in Kenya on a Rotary project to help build rainwater collection tanks.
More than 3,000 tanks have been collected, benefitting an estimated 28,000 people. Women and children, who were previously responsible for fetching water, now have more time for education and income-generating activities.
The Summerland Food Bank and Resource Centre has been operating since 1984. For most of that time, it has operated out of the Summerland United Church. At present, the food bank is at Summerland Alliance Church, 14820 Victoria Rd. N. However, when a new multi-family facility is built on Henry Avenue, the food bank will occupy the ground floor of that building.
