The Salvation Army in Portage la Prairie is seeing strong community support, but there are still a few key items they’re hoping to restock.
Salvation Army Auxiliary Lieutenant Justina Hammill says donations continue to roll in from local organizations, churches, and individuals.
“We get donations every week from different groups,” notes Hammill. “We get donations from McCains, we get donations from Good Shepherd Church. Once a month, they pick a different food item to collect each month. We get just random people in the community who just pop by to give us food.”
Good Shepherd Church has been providing steady support with monthly food drives. McCain Foods is also recognized for donating food products every single week.
Food bank sees growing demand
The food bank currently helps dozens of families in the community and the number keeps growing.
“Every week we have probably on average around 70 families who come to receive food here,” says Hammill. “Some weeks we've been as high as 89 and some weeks we're lower.”
Hammill adds that food insecurity is affecting a wide range of people, not just those you might expect.
“We have people who are working,” she continues. “Things have gotten more expensive and it's hard to make ends meet and they're in need of food as well.”
Most-needed items this summer
While donations of all kinds are welcome, Hammill outlines a few items the food bank urgently needs.
“Peanut butter is probably the biggest need,” she adds. “Next would be cereal and also baked beans. I just had to actually go purchase them because our shelves were totally empty.”
Hammill says the food bank tries to keep basic pantry staples on hand to make the hampers as helpful as possible. With families visiting weekly, turnover is high and supply often runs out faster than expected.
Ongoing community support appreciated
Even with the challenges, Hammill says she’s encouraged by the kindness and generosity shown by people throughout Portage la Prairie.
“Just a big thank you to our community,” she remarks. “They help out every week, somebody drops by with something and it's just a real godsend to the way that people rally around us.”
She mentions the Portage car show and Indigenous Days celebrations also helped collect food recently; examples of how residents continue to come together to make a difference.
Whether it’s a jar of peanut butter, a case of cereal, or a simple bag of groceries, Hammill says it all adds up, and it matters.
The Salvation Army food bank is open weekly and continues to welcome donations from those looking to help.
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