Food drive is close to home

Photo: Contributed

Lumby and area first responders will be going polished hat in hand going door lo door to fight hunger on Oct. 1.

It's the Lumby and District's 5th Annual Emergency Services Food Drive that will see local volunteers and emergency services personnel from RCMP, Fire, Ambulance, Search and Rescue, BC Conservation, CVSE, CP/CN Police go door to door in full gear with all their vehicles collecting for the local food bank.

The event starts at 5 p.m. next Tuesday.

This has become the largest single event supporting the Lumby food bank on a yearly basis. To date, the program has raised 25,000 pounds of food and $10,000 for the Lumby and District Food Bank, the Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP said in a release.

This program is very important to Const. Gary McLaughlin from North Okanagan Traffic Services on a personal level, who refers to himself as a proud food bank kid. 

"My family was very dependant on local food banks in Ontario in my childhood and giving back is something that many RCMP Members do on a daily basis," said McLaughlin. "I look forward to overloading our local food bank once again this year and supporting the local people that require a hand up instead of a hand out to provide them the opportunity of a full plate of food that a lot of us take for granted."

Traffic Services officers like McLaughlin spend many hours of their own time volunteering in communities across British Columbia and we are thankful for their service, said Supt. Holly Turton, Officer in Charge of BC RCMP Traffic Services.