Saturday is a special day for the Airdrie Food Bank as they are celebrating its 40th birthday.
Lori McRitchie, the food bank's Executive Director, explained that the food bank first started when a group of concerned community members noticed that people were hungry in the community.
"A lot of them were from different church communities, they banded together, and they formed a board, after they applied for incorporation through the province of Alberta to become a not-for-profit organization."
McRitchie does believe that even though March 29, 1985, is the day the food bank was officially incorporated, they were serving food some time before that.
She went on to talk about what the food bank was like when she garnered her role.
"The food bank was operating out of what is now the urgent care. We had a very small building, and it was open two half days a week, and two part-time staff people were working at that point."
McRitchie explained that it wasn't until they moved to their current location that they started using computers.
"The first year I was here, we did 555 hampers in the year. We are now doing more than that a month. Then we have our pantry program that sees up to 150 families a day."
She explained that the food bank has been through ups and downs but will always be there for people who need it.
"The one thing that's been true then and is true now is that the community supports us, that because of Airdrie and the people who live here, we're able to continue to meet the needs of our neighbours."
The food bank is currently holding a Westjet raffle to celebrate its 40th birthday.
"It's a trip anywhere WestJet flies and a set of luggage. We would love you to buy tickets to celebrate this birthday celebration with us."
Last Saturday, the food bank held its annual Shamrock Shimmy fundraiser, which brought in plenty of funds to help them feed families through the holiday season.
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