Strike impacting food bank donation stream

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on November 19, 2024.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Canadian Union of Postal Workers members picket Monday outside the downtown Post Office building. The Interfaith Food Bank says the continued strike is having an impact on mailed-in donations.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

As the Canadian Union of Postal Workers continued to strike on Monday, the consequences began to affect the Interfaith Food Bank’s ability to receive mailed-in donations.

Danielle McIntyre, executive director of the Interfaith Food Bank told the Herald Monday the timing of the strike is hurting them greatly as they were preparing to mail some very important information to their donors on Friday.

Local 770 of the CUPW here is on strike along with their counterparts across Canada.

“We were packing on schedule all of our newsletter list to get them into the Canada Post to go up for Christmas campaign. We aim to raise $425,000 through direct mail campaign, which if it doesn’t get into the hands of our donors, those donations don’t necessarily come back to us,” said McIntyre.

She said they knew the strike was looming, but they thought that if they were able to mail things out by Nov. 15 that they would be OK.

“But sure enough, that morning when we had all the volunteers coming to pack everything up was the day that they stopped accepting any mail, so we will cross our fingers that the strike is short,” said McIntyre.

She said they understand the importance of fair wages and safe working conditions, they are not in any way diminishing the importance of the strike for those affected, but they want to share how this will impact those in need as well.

 “We do have a lot of people who are counting on us, so we’re really hoping that despite the strike, the community will be able to get their donations down to Interfaith Food Bank,” said McIntyre.

She said the first thing they did was to reach out to the community and their donors about other ways to give other than through the mail.

“We know it’s a new age when everyone is supposed to have morphed over to the online giving option, but it’s not always familiar or comfortable for the majority of our donors who have been giving their $25 or $50 cheques every year,” said McIntyre.

She said it will be difficult for seniors but they are hoping that they would be able to use alternative ways to donate, like stopping by the food bank to drop off their donations in person.

“We’re encouraging people to give online through our website. Or they can certainly stop by the food bank, but if they aren’t able to come during our operating hours, we do have a secure mailbox on site so they’re able to gift their Christmas donation that way,” said McIntyre.

She said that with alternate ways to give they are hopeful they would still be able to hit their campaign target.

 “This is a bit of a blow after we’ve already had a very struggling year in meeting the demand in the community, because so many people are food insecure right now and the cost of groceries hasn’t come down to a manageable level,” said McIntyre.

She said monetary donations they get through the mail is what keeps their doors open and shelves stocked, so this is a very critical time.

“Our Christmas campaign, it’s our largest fundraiser, we need to be able to even decide what we can do next year. So if the dollars don’t come in now, we will not be able to commit to some of the extras that we normally provide, but I don’t want to speculate yet,” said McIntyre.

 She said she wants to remain positive in hopes there is a quick resolution of the strike and things go back to normal.

 “The more we can get the word out that there are other ways besides the mail to get your donation down to us, we’ll just sit back and cross our fingers for the time being,” said McIntyre.

 She said the Interfaith Food Bank is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and in December they will be open for the first three Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“If people who wish to donate cannot make it during our hours of operation, they can drop it off after hours, we have a secured mailbox. You want to make sure that it’s in a sealed envelope with your name and fully mailing address,” said McIntyre.

She said by doing that, the food bank is able to issue a charitable tax receipt for gifts received before Dec. 31 for the 2024 year.