The donation of a new delivery truck means it's easier for the Kamloops Food Bank to deliver the 58,000 pounds of food collected during it's annual Fall Rotary Food Drive.
"We are just absolutely delighted and honoured to have received that (vehicle)," Bernadette Siracky, the food bank's executive director, said Tuesday.
The refurbished curbside delivery truck arrived from Purolator at the food bank's office at 171 Wilson St. on Saturday — just in time to collect yellow bags full of food from homes across the city.
The food bank's staff and volunteers are stretched thin, so having a truck capable of picking up, hauling and delivering a large quantity of food makes the task quicker and easier, said Siracky.
She applied to Purolator's Tackle Hunger program in March. Pascal Dessureault, Purolator's manager of corporate communications, said Kamloops is one of 10 food banks in Canada to receive a vehicle.
He said Purolator isn't out to help food banks in large centres like Toronto, where there are enough resources to operate with relative ease.
Instead, the company wants to help operations like Kamloops where such a donation isn't just appreciated, but needed.
Siracky said times are tough at the food bank right now as a recent fire in one of the storage buildings cost the agency $20,000 in food.
Delivering and picking up food can also be a struggle, she said. And there isn't enough money in the coffers to purchase a vehicle like the one Purolator delivered.
"This is an expensive item for us to purchase," she said. "To us, it just really shows corporate, social responsibility."
The community has rallied behind the food bank as well, said Siracky. Between the efforts of the city's five Rotary clubs and residents' generosity, there is enough food to serve those in need until Christmas.
"When we will be overwhelmed again," she added. "Kamloops really comes through."
Dessureault said he's glad the delivery truck has already been put to good use.
"Food isn't the only thing you require to have a successful food bank," he said.
