Petawawa Pantry thanks community for successful “Treat and Eat” food drive

The Petawawa Pantry (Food Bank) would like to give a big “Thank-you” to the Petawawa community once again for their amazing generosity for the 5th Annual “Treat and Eat” food drive on Halloween evening.

This is our second year where we asked Petawawa residents if they could provide a cardboard box and accept food donations at their house. For each location we provided posters as well as hand-outs that could be dropped off to neighbours.

We had an amazing community response with over 60 homes volunteering to be official food bank drop-off locations in Petawawa! At 7:30, Petawawa Pantry volunteers began collecting the drop-off boxes … and there was over 1500 lbs of donated food items! It was truly a successful COVID-friendly evening and the Pantry shelves are replenished! It is satisfying to meet our neighbours, collect food for a great cause and know that we made a difference… and we did!

In past years, Pantry volunteers also enjoyed going door-to-door collecting food donations and interacting with neighbours and trick-or-treaters. We really missed that event this year, but hopefully we can do it next year.

A special shout-out to Maryse for her flashy sign pointing to her drop-box, her Facebook offer of a chance to win some great gift certificates for each donation, and her enthusiasm. Her neighbours were very generous with food donations!!

Most food banks, the Pantry included, have low food inventory during the summer and this Hallowe’en event is essential to stock-up the shelves each year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pantry was not accepting food donations from mid-March to September. In addition, many schools and organizations will not be running food-raisers this fall because of understandable COVID challenges. So, this year, the Petawawa Pantry’s “Treat and Eat” campaign was even more critical to obtain donations in preparation for the expected November/December food bank usage. We are so grateful for the generosity our community has provided during these trying times.

For a community to be great, it has to be great for everyone. By participating, you have invested in your community and it truly does make a difference to so many lives!

Would you like to participate in the “Treat-or-Eat” event next year? We can put your name on our listing.

Do you have an event or fundraising idea that we could support? Call 613-687-1616, email us at petawawapantryfoodbank@gmail.com, check us out on Facebook at Petawawa Pantry Food Bank or drop by the Pantry (Tues from 1-4 pm or Thurs 6-8 pm) to talk to our volunteers.