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Lions Club’s 2nd Annual Christmas Food Drive deemed successful

December 23, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

The Orangeville Lions Club held its 2^nd Annual Christmas Food Drive outside Metro over the weekend, generating 1,700 lbs of food and $2,700 in cash donations for the local Food Bank.

All of the cash donations will be used to purchase fresh produce to go into special baskets that are being prepared for users of the Orangeville Food Bank in time for Christmas.

“Over the five hours we had probably about 20 of our Lions there. Some at the front door greeting the folks as they came in and the rest at the back door,” said Mike Walker, Lions Club Vice President.

“We’ve always been supportive of the food bank over the years, with upgrades to the building and cash donations for food. Our motto as Lions is we serve, so we want to be out there and actually be part of the process of gathering the food, because there is a tremendous need right now because of COVID.”

At all times, there’s a need for more donations to support social service agencies in the community and the Lions try to focus their efforts wherever the greatest demand lies, according to Walker.

He said he’s extremely grateful to the community for their generosity and support over what is typically the busiest weekend of the year.

“Everybody had a smile on their face and of course Lions are very big friendly folks, so we greeted them as they came in and thanked them as they came out and so it was good for everybody all around,” Walker noted.

He said overall the food drive was a great success. The Orangeville Ukuladies even stopped by to perform Christmas Carols as the Lions collected non-perishable food and cash.

When the Lions hosted their first Christmas fundraiser in 2019 they generated over 2,000 lbs of food and $585 in donations, while their fall food drive this year saw 1,200 lbs in donations and $750 in cash.

The Orangeville Lions are looking forward to hosting their 3^rd Annual Christmas Food Drive in 2021 and perhaps an additional fundraiser in the spring, depending on what the need is within the community.

“I’m not a mind reader, but I think that there will always be a need for the food bank and for social services, social clubs like ours to step up to help them in getting their bins full,” Walker reasoned.

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