Kemptville residents are being called on to help support people struggling to make ends meet.
The Kemptville Salvation Army is preparing to launch its annual “Fill a Bag” food drive, collecting groceries for families dealing with food insecurity.
“We have about 7,000 brown paper bags that are going to be going out through the entire community,” explains Salvation Army volunteer Esteban Castillo. “Basically, on the front of the bags, there’s a sheet that has instructions on what we’re looking for at the Food Bank.”
When the bags are collected a week later, Castillo says the items that get donated will help keep shelves stocked with food for almost an entire year.
He says keeping the food bank stocked is important right now, because demand for it is extremely high.
“People are spending more money, whether it be on gas, on housing, on different utilities, so therefore it’s becoming tight,” Castillo says. “And it’s affecting working people, people on disability, seniors are also affected by this. We’ve seen people of all ages coming in.”
The bags will be delivered to homes in North Grenville on Sunday, November 19th. Residents will have a week to fill them before volunteers return to collect them curbside on the 26th.