Food bank fundraiser features great prizes and will help raise funds to purchase new safety-related tools

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This month, the Whitecourt Food Bank is holding a fundraiser with fantastic prizes up for grabs. For a five-dollar ticket, some lucky winner will score a River Cree Casino getaway for two valued at $1,250, including an overnight stay, brunch, a three-course dinner and tickets to a concert or show of their choice. “Everybody wants that one,” chuckled Lori Coffey, Whitecourt Food Bank Director.

Other prizes include an Indigenous hand-crafted crib board valued at $300, a men’s Lotus team racing shirt valued at $500, a pair of ladies’ Nine West sunglasses valued at $400, men’s Balle sunglasses valued at $400, and a ladies Stella and Dot necklace and limited edition beauty supplies valued at $450. There are also IGA gift cards to be handed out and a separate 50/50 raffle.

Last week, Coffey and volunteers hung out at IGA to sell tickets. Circumstances outside of their control caused a bit of a hiccup with selling tickets in person at the store, but they got there Sunday. “It went really well because we had the prizes on the table so people could see what they might win.”

Coffey said that it was fun to chat with people. “It’s neat to interact with people, and it puts connections in the community.” Though there are still a few weeks left in the fundraiser, Coffey said that it’s something she would like to do again as a regular thing for the food bank. “Our only real campaign is the Christmas tree light up. So, something like this in the summer would be fun if we had cool prizes again. I like it when people win. When people first see the table, they think it’s just a group raising money, but people were more engaged because they see the prizes up for grabs with one ticket for five bucks. I like that they are getting something for their donation.”

She said that roughly two-thirds of ticket buyers put tickets into the 50/50 draw and the remaining third put their tickets into the prize draw. Either way, tickets are only five dollars each. Coffey said that she doesn’t think it will happen but that she really, really, really hopes they can sell all 3,000 printed tickets. The impact of such a success would be immeasurable.

“We have a couple of expensive items that we require coming up, and we are hoping that this will cover that without it coming out of my budget. Given that most of the people who work at the food bank are seniors, we have to make things as easy to move around as possible. We purchased milk crates to move our food around more lightweight and with handles. We have like 300 milk crates, and we need more. We also want to buy a pallet lift which costs $5,000. It goes in between our aisles, and then we can put our food on it, and the whole mechanism rises so that we can just go on a ladder and put the food away without having to hold it or have somebody pass it to them up above their heads.”

She explained that those purchases, especially the lift, are something they could not afford to do without funds raised from the community. “They are very expensive tools, but at the end of the day, we really need them. I have an 80-year-old here. The majority of our helpers are 65 and over and retired. We are just getting to the point that our space is so small and tight and limited for us to be able to work that we are hurting ourselves all the time. I need to make it safer and better, and this lift will be a game-changer for us.”

Coffey said that a fundraiser like this could enable them to purchase the lift without taking away from her being able to buy food. “It’s an extra added thing, and I hate spending the money I have on anything other than food. I need to ensure that I’m always ready because what’s about to happen, I’m telling you, we will be doing so much more in four months that my numbers will triple.”

Since the start of COVID, Coffey has predicted the rise of need in the food bank as people lost jobs, and government funding attracted people to apply even though they shouldn’t have and ended up with a tax bill. So far, she hasn’t been wrong. “It’s tax time again. If you owe money, you will lose your child tax, your GST, and all that. The last day to file your taxes is the end of the month, and people are prolonging that because the second they file, they will lose that money. I think June will be busy, but July and August will be record-breaking numbers, unlike anything we’ve ever seen. So, I need to be ready and stocked at all times.”

She explained that a long time ago, they had 42 intakes in one day, and it cleared the shelves right out. That experience taught her always to remain stocked just in case something similar happened again. “You have to be ready, and that’s my motto. Things might be going sideways, but I have to be ready. I have to be able to take care of everyone, and I’ve got this with the town’s help.”

Not one to call in favours or ask for help, Coffey hopes the community will rally around this fundraiser and help them purchase the necessary equipment they need to keep volunteers safe while helping her keep her food budget intact. The Whitecourt Food Bank is located at 76 Sunset Boulevard in the Carlan Services Community Resource Centre. Tickets are on sale until April 30 and are five dollars each.