The Flagstaff Food Bank is hosting their reverse advent calendar once again, gathering a month’s worth of donations a day at a time.
Each day has one item commonly found on the food bank shelves, which doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when a whole month’s worth of items is gathered, it is a big deal to the local organization.
The calendar isn’t expensive to fill, and ensures that the Food Bank receives the items they need to fill their standard hampers, as they gear up for one of the busiest times of year.
As the season gets colder, and furnaces fire up more often, utility costs increase, and what’s left over for food can sometimes mean that a hamper from the food bank becomes a necessity for some people in the region.
The reverse advent calendar is not only a great guide to giving year-round to the food bank, but it’s also a fun way to go about it.
Make it a challenge, or go in with friends and family, assigning each a week or even a day or days of the month.
It’s something that local businesses can do as well as individuals, and having full shelves going into the winter season is a huge hand up for the food bank.
Food Bank co-chair Jan Bergseth says, “It’s Christmas in October for the food bank with the annual ‘Foodvent’ calendar.
“We so appreciate the support we’ve received so far from everyone who has purchased the items on the list.
“The Killam and Sedgewick Co-ops are doing an excellent job promoting the daily items by having them at the checkouts for easy purchase.”
For those who wish to participate, you can buy the items individually and then put them all together for delivery at the end to the food bank (by Monday, Nov. 3) or you can drop the items individually in donation boxes in your community (if you have them.)
If you want to participate, but are unable to deliver the goods yourself, call 780-385-0810 to make other arrangements.
