The London Food Bank has officially dropped the latest numbers for its 2024 London Cares Curb Hunger Campaign.
The campaign collected the equivalent of 87,800 pounds of food while running between May 29 to June 8, a difference of 920 pounds versus 2023’s campaign.
“I would like to thank the Londoners who participated in the 28th London Cares Curb Hunger Campaign and donated to help fellow residents,” says London Mayor Josh Morgan.
“Our community has, yet again, shown immense compassion by helping the London Food Bank collect fresh, locally sourced, and healthy food to support our community this summer.”
While the Food Bank says it’s happy to see an increase over the 2023 numbers, it’s a sharp decline from the increase seen from 2022 when it grew by nearly 10-thousand pounds of food.
Looking at the numbers though, there is one key contributor that stands out; Corporate donations.
Every other category that the food bank tracks during the campaign saw substantial increases:
- Drop-offs to grocery stores, fire halls, and the London Food Bank = 17,030 pounds, a 23.85 per cent increase over 2023.
- Community Refresh program = 25,625 pounds, an 18.80 per cent increase over 2023.
- Financial donations ($72,231.23 at $3.52 per pound as reported by Food Banks Canada) = 20,520 pounds (equivalent), a 58.00 per cent increase over 2023
The campaign reported an increase of 920 pounds of food versus 2023’s campaign.
While those three contributed to over 8-thousand pounds of additional food, corporate donations fell 36.16 per cent from 2023 at 24,625 pounds of food.
In 2023, the campaign saw corporate donation contributions of 38,570, meaning there was a difference of nearly 14-thousand pounds of food from 2023 to 2024.
Had corporations broken even with 2023, the Food Bank would have reported the equivalent of over 100-thousand pounds of food.
Financially speaking, using Food Banks Canada calculations, this means corporate donations dropped by $50-thousand between the years.
“Every year, the Campaign has been successful in helping London Food Bank collect fresh food for individuals and families in need, especially during summer months,” says Co-Director of the London Food Bank, Glen Pearson.
“We encourage the residents, businesses and community partners to donate to the London Food Bank, if and whenever they can, so everyone can have access to nutritious food throughout the year.”
The Curb Hunger Campaign supports more than 29-thousand individuals in need of food.
