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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , Se pt em be r 1 7, 2 01 0 2 6 The Salvation Army in Oakville is mak-ing a huge menu change changingthe offering and adding new fare when it comes to its food drive collections. As local food banks continue to struggle with the aftermath of Canadas economic recession, the local Salvation Army is moving its annual door-to-door food drive from this fall to next June. From that point forward (June) it will be a springtime occurrence, said Aisha Chaney, community and family services co-ordinator. But the local Salvation Army is not making the change and leaving anyone without means this fall. Instead, it is introducing a secondary drive to help families get on their feet as children get back to the school routine the new Back to School Food Drive. The annual food drive sees the Salvation Army Oakville collect food from houses all across town. Volunteers distribute donation bags to homes and then return and collect the dona- tions. For the new Back to School Food Drive, donations will be accepted at the Salvation Armys Rebecca Street headquarters. According to Chaney, donations in the spring begin to dwindle and end up being quite scarce over the summer months. Local food banks have been really struggling over the course of the past summer. Our goal is to be more strategic with our efforts, seeking more widespread community support at a time when food bank shelves are typically known to be bare, explained Chaney. According to Chaney part of the strategy includes recognition of the fact that there are no holidays, except the summer holidays, in June that encourage people to donate, no Christmas or Thanksgiving, and Easter has passed a couple of months before. The anxiety at this time that many parents feel can be quite strong, they are anticipating summer break and their kids being home throughout the day not knowing what they are going to feed them, said Chaney. However this fall, the Salvation Army is introducing a new food drive this fall. We are now introducing a secondary food drive to help local kids and their families as they head back to school. With September here, there are not many options for those needing emer- gency food provisions. No juice boxes or healthy snacks to pack in their lunches, no cereals or hot meals to start or end their days, said Chaney. The effort officially began this week and will continue until Oct. 1. Of particular need are the following: healthy snacks, fruit juice, rice, cereal, peanut butter, canned/powdered milk, canned fruit and vegeta- bles, canned/dry pasta, pasta sauce, canned meat and fish, hearty stews, baby formula and diapers. Donations of clothing are also being accept- ed. Food is being collected from Monday to Saturday at the Salvation Army Oakville Community & Family Services located at the agencys headquarters at 1225 Rebecca St. Donations are being accepted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each of the days. At the conclusion of the new Back-to-School Food Drive, donations will continue to be accepted as usual during regular business hours. We would like to thank everyone who has been involved with our food drives and who con- tinue to support us... volunteers, donors, local businesses. We would be unable to provide this vital service here in our community without them, said Chaney. For more information, contact Chaney at 905-827-5324, ext. 22 or e-mail community@salvation armyoakville.ca. Salvation Army stocks up for back to school LivingOakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-337-5560 Fax: 905-337-5571 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com SUBMITTED PHOTO THINKING OF SCHOOL LUNCHES: These young people adorn the Salvation Army Oakvilles ad for its new Back to School Food Drive. Its annual fall food drive is being moved to June. We would like to thank everyone who has been involved with our food drives and who continue to support us... volunteers, donors, local businesses. We would be unable to provide this vital service here in our community without them. Aisha Chaney, Salvation Army Oakville co-ordinator, community and family services