Volunteers from the 2019 Target Hunger campaign (Photo courtesy Danielle McIntyre, Interfaith Food Bank)

By Justin Goulet

Target Hunger campaign a go, despite COVID-19 pandemic

May 3, 2020 | 9:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Registration for the annual Target Hunger initiative is now open.

Organizers say despite the on-going novel coronavirus pandemic, the Lethbridge-wide event will still take place, as it’s considered a safe fundraiser because it sees the recruitment of food for essential services: the Lethbridge Food Bank and Interfaith Food Bank.

The Lethbridge Food Bank’s executive director, Maral Kiani Tari spoke with Lethbridge News Now about the initiative and some of the changes they’ve made in the wake of COVID-19.

Volunteers can sign up for a route at targethungerlethbridge.com and on Saturday, June 13, they’ll head out on their route and pick up food item donations set aside by residents.

Those items will then go to either the Lethbridge Food Bank or Interfaith, to be put towards the food banks’ hampers that assist residents in need.

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“Once a volunteer does sign up on the online website, they receive an email that gives them all the instructions of how to proceed with the initiative, so basically they can go and pick up all the donations after 10:30 in the morning on Saturday, June 13^th and they can bring them to the designated food bank that’s listed on their route that they have signed up [for],” Kiani Tari said.

She noted that anyone who cannot walk a pick-up route but still wants to help out can use a bag or box to place their donation on their front steps or front curb for volunteers to pick up.

“Mark it [the donation] with either a TH [for Target Hunger] or an indication that our volunteers know that that food is meant for the food banks, so that volunteers can pick those up and bring them to us. There’s many different ways of getting involved if they don’t want to physically come do the route, that’s another amazing way of getting involved in Target Hunger,” she said.

“Once we do receive the food at each food bank, we go through and we sort them in the proper categories and after that, those items are used to stock up our hampers and be able to provide hampers to our clients and the community that is in need, especially during this time.”

Citizens can also sign up to volunteer as a sorter, if they cannot walk a route. Kiani Tari said that the routes are selected on a first come-first serve basis.

She added that with many residents stressed due to the COVID-19 situation, they’re hoping Target Hunger can help create a sense of normalcy in the community.

She emphasized that anyone who may need help during their route can find someone to assist them, but that person must live in the same household – one of the adjustments organizers have made in light of the health crisis.

“We’re basically complying with all health measures and social distancing recommended by AHS and making sure that all the participants are safe. We encourage volunteers to take their own safety measures as well – you know, taking gloves, masks, whatever they feel comfortable when they’re doing their route pick-ups,” she said.

“On our sites [the food banks], we’re enforcing those social distancing measures – changing the way we would do sorting, reducing the number of volunteers that we have on sorting day and such, to make sure that it’s a safe event and fun event at the same time.”

Another change organizers have made is the phasing out of yellow bags to reduce single-use plastics.

Last year, Target Hunger collected close to 42,000 pounds of food.

READ MORE: Close to 42,000 pounds of food collected from Target Hunger campaign

The goal of the campaign this year is to collect 100,000 pounds of food.