Christmas Hope campaign launches in Lethbridge

Mac Nichol, executive director of the Lethbridge Food Bank said, “From March 2022 to September 2023 we’ve seen a rise of about 48 per cent across food bank usage just in Lethbridge alone. The big difficulty here is, when food inflation goes up, the food banks also get pinched multiple times. We have to buy more food for more clients, that food also costs more.”

Nichol added, “Last year in November, we served around 550 households, and then in December we served 680. So it’s an increase of about 130.”

He concluded, “This year, we foresee that being much higher. We have already served 650 hampers this month. Really, we would be surprised if it’s anything lower than 750 for December this year.”

Increased demand makes it significantly more difficult for Christmas Hope to meet everyone’s needs, but according to Michelle Gallucci, director of advancement and communications at Lethbridge Family Services, the community always plays their role.

She said, “We’re not scared, we are cautiously optimistic, because the community always comes through no matter what.”

The community’s dedication can be seen in the Suitcases for Foster Kids initiative, which Gallucci described as a quite successful.

“We have exceeded our totals, we are at $14,700 raised. We can now give 65 suitcases before the end of this year, and then start over if we need to. So, thank you to the community that was incredible.”

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by Joel Mendelson

Christmas Hope campaign launches in Lethbridge

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