This year, at the upcoming Corn & Apple Festival parade on Saturday, Many Hands Resource Centre will make an appearance with shopping carts.
Mariyam Tsygankova, the executive director of Many Hands, said the carts are not just a prop, but also an opportunity for parade attendees to offer their own helping hand.
“We are collecting non-perishable food items for the Morden food bank to support families in need,” she said. “So if you're coming to watch the parade, please bring along a can of beans or a box of pasta or cereal.”
What should one bring?
Tsygankova said that the resource centre appreciates any non-perishable food (especially items like pasta and rice). It is also helpful if the expiry date isn’t too soon.
The executive director said that the Many Hands team will also be accepting cash donations in envelopes.
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The group — clad in bright green t-shirts and sweaters — will be easy to identify in the parade.
Last year’s impactful haul
Tsygankova said that at last year’s parade, the community’s generosity shone.
“We were able to collect enough food to enable us to feed people for two weeks,” she said. “Just from one morning.”
This year, Tsygankova aims to collect enough items to supply the food bank for three to four weeks, matching the increasing need.
“We have more and more people coming through our doors,” she said.
“Many of them are working but still struggling to put food on their table, so supporting the food bank means supporting your neighbours.”
Lots of produce
For Tysgankova, harvest season is also proving helpful to the centre. Along with collecting non-perishable foods consistently, Many Hands has also been receiving donations of garden goods from the community.
“We are getting more and more,” she said. “We are so thankful.”
Each item donated, big or small, helps the 120 families who visit the food bank on Wednesdays to stock their pantries.
It’s an impact that Tsygankova sees firsthand.
“Food banks like ours exist because the community makes them possible. Every dollar, every can of food, every act of kindness — it all adds up to make sure no one goes hungry,” she said.
To learn more about Many Hands Resource Centre, click here.
With files from Ty Hildebrand