Columbia Valley Food Bank
PO Box 2141, 201B- 7th Avenue V0A 1K0 Invermere, BC, Canada

Thank you to our brilliant food banks for everything they do. Check out what Dave Blottner from Food Bank Society of Whitehorse had to say about his experience.... #ThankstoFoodBanks This entire situation with COVID has shined a light on just how much the work that we do means to those we serve. As long as there are people in need, you better believe we’re going to be there to help them the best way we can. ----- Merci à nos incroyables banques alimentaires pour tout leur travail. Découvrez ce que Dave Blottner de la Whitehorse Food Bank souhaite dire sur son expérience. #ThanksToFoodBanks La pandémie de COVID-19 a mis en lumière l’importance que revêt notre travail pour nos clients. Tant qu’il y aura des gens dans le besoin, nous serons là pour les aider du mieux que nous le pouvons.

How do you make this season special? Lorraine and TJ did so by donating not only a turkey but an entire meal in a box, replete with potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, roasting pan, baster and dessert!! This made one family very happy. Meanwhile, SHerry from Joe's NoFrills loaded our new freezers with a wide variety of frozen goods to start the new year off right! Thanks for your caring!

Today we would like to thank Ryan for his generous donation to the food bank! Here is a little backstory about Ryan’s donation: Last year, 6-year-old Ryan decided he wanted to design graphics for clothing, which is when he drew up Tacosaurus to put on a sweater.... This past summer, he wanted to make Tacosaurus masks (to sell from a lemonade stand in the front yard). Mom told him he could do the masks, but he had to sell them through social media (with mom’s help) instead of from a stand, to keep it safe. Ryan made a mini business plan and part of his plan was to dedicate 10% of his sales to the Food Bank. This week, Ryan reached his goal of selling 100 masks before his 7th birthday Yesterday, Ryan came in to make his donation and have a tour of the food bank as a wonderful completion to this year long journey. Thank you Ryan! You are an inspiration to all of us. *please note masks are not available to purchase at the moment as Ryan is taking a little break (a mommy-forced break)*

Another big thank you to Lara and Adrian at From Scratch in Fairmont for the donation of freshly baked muffins and dozens of containers of soup! Despite being so busy, they continue to cook and bake for clients at the Food Bank. How blessed we are!

The advent of 2021 has seen the generosity of the Valley continuing, James Weir dropped by with a generous donation from the Lake Windermere Kinsmen Club, Robert and Barb Shaunessy's foundation did also, and we had the 'big cheque' handover from Brian Schall of the proceeds from Copper Point Golf Course's Feed the Town event. Since our recently donated freezers arrived, we were able to share some of our old ones with the community.

The Tale of Two Christmas Bears The Teddy Bear landed with a soft thump on the top of a huge pile of groceries in the oversized grocery cart at No Frills. As Joe tossed in another little bear, he said, You fellows belong in a home for Christmas. Good luck! They peeked around rolls of toilet paper at him and replied, We hope it’s one with kids! Soon after, George arrived to load up the groceries to take to the Food Bank. Why, hello you two! he said, you don’t look l...ike gingerbread boys good enough to eat- but come along anyway. At the Food Bank,the two teddy bears waited patiently watching all the generous folks drop off turkeys and oranges and canned goods and envelopes. They supervised the volunteers as they packed hampers for grateful clients. But no one asked for bears in their hampers and the bears felt sad that they might not find their way to a home for Christmas. Then finally one day, Melanie from Family Dynamix popped by to announce, I’ve found the perfect home for the teddy bears! And their little teddy bear hearts were filled with joy! At last they were on their way to a home for Christmas! Wishing everyone joy in your hearts, food on your tables and good health this holiday season! With gratitude for all the generosity and care that our community has shown over the past year! Merry Christmas!

This amazing Valley just keeps on giving!! On Thursday, Serge and Bailey from Copper Point Resort arrived with a donation raised by the staff there. Food donations were dropped of by both Carolyn and Joe Webber. Melissa from Skandia Concrete arrived with a cheque from that company, followed shortly thereafter by Steve bearing 3 boxes of freshly baked breads sent up by Matthew amd Kerstan at Hopkins Harvest! We needed to put our volunteer students from Open Doors to work sorting through the donations. On Friday, two freezers arrived for the Food Bank, donated by Gerry and Donna Read, with delivery and set up included by Shawn and Jordan! No sooner were they functioning than we picked up a load of fresh goods furnished by the Radium Mountainside Market. Thank you all for your generosity!

Thank you to Kristine Hajas an Black Star Studios for your generous donation to the Columbia Valley Food Bank! Tied for 1st place in the DOI's Christmas Tree Decorating Contest, both decided to donate their winnings to the Food Bank! Thank you!

Thank you to the United Steelworkers Humanity Fund for supporting our local Food Bank annually!

And the generosity of this Valley continues! Sobey's campaign continues until December 24 - purchase an $8 bag or make a donation. A truckful were picked up again this week. And on Friday Dean Tubman of Odyssey Restoration and Cleaning dropped by with a significant donation and a long term planning for supporting this community!

Copper Point Golf Club's 2020 FEED the TOWN event on Sunday was a resounding success. Planning to ensure it was a safe event during the time of COVID, Brian Schall and his dedicated restaurant and support staff, along with volunteers from the Food Bank and Radium Rotary, served 1100 meals to the drive-through clients. Santa and the Grinch made sure most folks went home happy, but the event was so well attended the food ran out just before 5 (the first time in the 17-year history of the event)! Three truckloads of food donations and a substantial amount of cash were generated for the CVFB. Thanks all!

The annual Sobey's (Loblaw) holiday hamper drive has commenced. Spport the CVFB at your local Sobey's!!

Don't forget "Feed the Town" tomorrow from 12 - 7 at Copper Point Golf Course - a Christmas dinner for donations to the Food Bank. This is a drivethrough event this year. Meals will be delivered to your vehicle. Catching up on thanks for the past few weeks: thanks to Brenda Danyluk and the staff ans students in Edgewater for their amazing collection of food for us; to Neil and staff at Back Country Jacks for the reib ends; and to Tom MacRae for his handyman skills around the building!

Thanks to Tara and staff at Red Apple. Their annual Thanksgiving food drive lasts through this week!

The Columbia Valley Food Bank had the winning hand in the 2nd Annual Columbia Valley Classics Poker Run. A cheque for more than $1,187.00 was presented by Vicki Roberts, Columbia Valley Classic Car Club and Katie Wallace from TrueKey Hotels and Resorts to Nesta Becker, Chair, CVFB. Awesome! Thank you both and kudos to your organizations for supporting our community through the Food Bank!

Coming up this Sunday from 12 - 7 - a drive through -only event with donations to the Columbia Valley Food Bank accepted.

Our CVFB donors are so thoughtful!! Someone put all the items necessary for a child’s birthday party in a gift bag and left it with us.

A big Thank You to Inspire Floral Boutique for supporting CVFB! Gratitude to Alita, her staff and customers for their kind thoughts and donations!

What does a Circle of Support in the Columbia Valley look like? It starts with Columbia Valley Food and Farm (Alison Bell) purchasing local beef from Heidi Trescher at Brisco Farm....which Adrian and Lara of From Scratch A Mountain Kitchen transformed into delicious Lasagne, Meatballs and Shepard’s Pie. ... which then were delivered to the CVFB to be included in our clients’ hampers!

Great things are still happening in the Valley! We had a second chance to pull carrots at Saunders Farms, and under Faith and Gordon's care Anne, Greg, Milt and I were able to harvest enough to likely last us for a month! Ervin and Judy M. pitched in ad delivered a box full of beauties from their garden. Then we got a call from Connie at Panorama Resort and as they were closing she was able to drop off a significant supply of orange juice, sparkling water, iced teas and soft drinks! Thanks all! Stay safe and keep sharing!

We’ll miss the magical sight of the Holiday Train pulling into Radium this year....but still can enjoy the music! A big thank-you to CP Rail for supporting our Food Banks!

Big THANKS to Faith and Gordon Saunders at Saunders Farm who invited us out to help ourselves to some carrots for the Food Bank. Gordon helped wash them up and check for rust fly damage after our picking crew of Beth, Greg and Lawrie filled 4 baskets!!

The annual Sobey's (Loblaw) holiday hamper drive has commenced. Support the CVFB at your local Sobey's!!

Time to thank a few more of our supporters who help make life better in the Valley. Thanks to Rochelle and Murray Janewski who donated a freezer and table - great additions! Barbara and John Fieck were among a number of folks who starting bringing in local produce to share with our clients. And it was out with the old, in with the new at Joe's NoFrills as Joe brought in a new mega-sized shopping cart for donations to the Food Bank!

Thanks to Tara and staff at Red Apple. Their annual Thanksgiving food drive lasts through this week!

A big thank you to the Windermere Lion’s Club for hosting the Annual Charity Golf Tournament on July,6th at Copper Point Golf Course! A total of 193 golfers came out on a beautiful day to support the Columbia Valley Food Bank. A donation of $9,500.00 was gratefully received by the CVFB! The big cheque was presented by Raylene Oram and Harold Hazelarr from the Lion’s club to Nesta Becker, chair, CVFB. As always, Brian Schaal and Scott McClain from Copper Point contribute their support for local organizations like the CVFB! Cheers to all!!

Happy Canada Day! Elaine and Nesta got the building looking good, and on Monday the special Canada Day hampers got packed and on Tuesday distributed. Thanks to our volunteers Janel, Jeannine, Werner, Trina, Alexa, Garrett, Cher and David who handled our end. Thanks also to Alison Bell, Toni, Nick, Randy, Lara, the Paagman family and others involved in getting the Columbia Valley Community Meal program up and running, and the many organizations and individuals in the Valley who pitched in! The recipients were most appreciative!

Thanks to Lake Windermere Lions and Copper Point Golf Course. See you on Monday July 6!

In addition to Jim Ashworth finishing his 101 block walk and raising nearly $35 K for us, we've had more amazing valley folks step up. Braden and Sobey's provided a truckload of tomato sauce. Margaret Feldman arrived with 80 lbs. of local ground beef (check out her display at the Wednesday Agri-Mart Farmers' Market)! Bailey and the staff at Copper Point Resort raised over $200 in a very unique manner. Trevor and Heather Pryndik brought in some tasty greens from their garden to be distributed. And then a tree miraculously appeared beside the Food Bank! Love this Valley!

Cutting the ribbon

Great things are still happening in the Valley! We had a second chance to pull carrots at Saunders Farms, and under Faith and Gordon's care Anne, Greg, Milt and I were able to harvest enough to likely last us for a month! Ervin and Judy M. pitched in ad delivered a box full of beauties from their garden. Then we got a call from Connie at Panorama Resort and as they were closing she was able to drop off a significant supply of orange juice, sparkling water, iced teas and soft drinks! Thanks all! Stay safe and keep sharing!

Time to thank a few more of our supporters who help make life better in the Valley. Thanks to Rochelle and Murray Janewski who donated a freezer and table - great additions! Barbara and John Fieck were among a number of folks who starting bringing in local produce to share with our clients. And it was out with the old, in with the new at Joe's NoFrills as Joe brought in a new mega-sized shopping cart for donations to the Food Bank!

Happy Canada Day! Elaine and Nesta got the building looking good, and on Monday the special Canada Day hampers got packed and on Tuesday distributed. Thanks to our volunteers Janel, Jeannine, Werner, Trina, Alexa, Garrett, Cher and David who handled our end. Thanks also to Alison Bell, Toni, Nick, Randy, Lara, the Paagman family and others involved in getting the Columbia Valley Community Meal program up and running, and the many organizations and individuals in the Valley who pitched in! The recipients were most appreciative!

Thanks to Lake Windermere Lions and Copper Point Golf Course. See you on Monday July 6!

101-year old Jim Ashworth decided to walk 101 blocks to raise money for the Columbia Valley Food Bank. On Saturday June 6, he finished his campaign, but will continue walking to "maintain his health and waistline"!

Saturday was a special day for us as the amazing Jim Ashworth completed his 101-block walk for the FoodBank, having raised over $30,000 to date! Jim wanted just a small ceremony. Thanks to the Legion #71 for mustering an Honour Guard and piper, Al Miller. Gerry Wilkie, Ryan Watmough and other notables for turning up, Nesta and family for managing the finish line, and Lara from From Scratch for supplying some treats. Mostly thanks to Jim (who says he's going to continue walking to maintain his waistline!) for being the focus and star of this campaign and inspiring so many donations.

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video Jim is going to finish his walk this afternoon. What can we say but thanks to this amazing gentleman!

CTV Calgary will be airing coverage of Jim Ashworth's 101-block walk for the CVFB tonight. Jim hopes to achieve his goal tomorrow!

Cheers, cheers, cheers! 101-year-old Jim Ashworth decided to walk 101 blocks in Invermere, BC, to support the Columbia Valley Food Bank This Saturday Jim will be completing his campaign with his walk concluding at the Food Bank. Read more about his story here: https://globalnews.ca//101-year-old-bc-veteran-walk-for-c/ Contribute to his campaign here: https://www.canadahelps.org///campaign/Jim-Ashworth-Walk/

As the community slowly opens up, its generosity continues unabated. This week Andrea from Kootenay Clothing Company dropped off a cheque based on her t-shirt sales, Ray and Jacqueline presented the proceeds of their garage sale/giveaway as well as a supply of apple cider, From Scratch provided more delicious pizzas, the Radium Rotary Club pitched in, and Lori from Columbia Valley Sign Artists donated 2 beautiful new building signs! Jim Ashworth continued his walking and will hit his goal of 101 blocks on Friday or Saturday next week.

Your donation will have a dramatic impact in the fight against hunger and help put food on someone’s table.

It was another good week at the Columbia Valley Food Bank!! Sobey's made a huge donation of everybody's favorite - KD - which we used and also were able to share with other agencies in the Valley. Thanks for all the support from Steve and Lori Ladas and enjoy your upcoming retirement!! Then Tex and Conall arrived with a carload of donations from the Fairmont Community Association. Jacqueline held a garage sale and all the items were free with a donation to the Food Bank. And Jim Ashworth (notice the only person wearing shorts!!) on his 101-block walk to support us was joined by Board members as well as Susan and Doug Clovechok and Al Miller Friday morning. We also celebrated the anniversary of our one year ago groundbreaking for the new building. Keep sharing!

Part 2 - Jim Ashworth Walk Update - This morning, Jim finished blocks 33 and 34 of his walk, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Groundbreaking ceremony for the new FoodBank building. Jim, the only one brave enough to wear shorts, was joined by members of the Board as well as Mayor Al Miller, RDEK Director Susan Clovechok and MLA Doug Clovechok. One week into the campaign Jim has raised over $13 600 from more than 125 donations. Thank you all. Keep sharing! https://www.canadahelps.org//c/campaign/Jim-Ashworth-Walk/

Jim Ashworth Walk Update - This morning, Jim finished blocks 33 and 34 of his walk, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Groundbreaking ceremony for the new FoodBank building. Jim was joined by members of the Board as well as Mayor Al Miller, RDEK Director Susan Clovechok and MLA Doug Clovechok. One week into the campaign Jim has raised over $13 600 from more than 125 donations. Thank you all. Keep sharing!

Tempus Fugit - one year ago on a sunny day the Groundbreaking ceremony for the new Food Bank building took place.... Today to celebreate we're going on a 4-block walk with Jim Ashworth.

The Columbia Valley Food Bank is pleased to announce its newest donation drive. Local 101-year old RCAF veteran Jim Ashworth has committed to walking 101 blocks to raise money for us. He was inspired by two slightly older Burma Star (for service in the Burma campaign during WWII) recipients who have started campaigns in London, England and Victoria. Jim plans to walk up to 4 blocks a day, with his route often taking in Columbia Gardens. Donations can be made at https://www.canadahelps.org//c/campaign/Jim-Ashworth-Walk/

These shirts are great!!

Support for the CVFB continued to show up from all corners of the Valley. Michelle from the COTR arrived with a car full of donations made by the Sikh community in Golden, and while that was coming in so was our treasurer, Jim, with a carload from Radium picked up from Helmut and Natascha of Helna's Stube (who had presented a special meal to benefit the FoodBank) and the Mountainside Market who provided a cartload of supplies. The family at Fairmont's From Scratch were busy... preparing pizzas to deliver to us for our hampers. Kootenay Clothing's Andrea modeled her t-shirts outside (we receive $5 from every one sold before May 20), and Cleanline Automotive ended their first month supporting us with 9 sales netting us $450. Loblaw Canada (via Sobey's) and Kootenay Savings also made significant donations recently! Thanks to all, including our coordinator and volunteers who are cool in so many ways! See more

Thanks to Cleanline Automotive and their hard-working, though apparently a little crazy, staff for this effort!

Thanks to Radium and Fairmont Mountainside Markets for supporting the COlumbia Valley Food Bank!

The CVFB experienced another week of great support from this community. Mountainside Markets put together a donation of much needed items (thanks Lori, Wayne, Angelina and Ryan), Amanda dropped by with coffee from Kicking Horse, Dan managed to back up to the door with another pallet from Sysco, and our amazing volunteers got to get it all put away as well as manage a delivery to clients in Edgewater which included full meals courtesy of the Columbia Valley Community Meal Program!

Who's here to represent Fairmont Hot Springs?! Are you ready to put your community where your is? $5 from every t-shirt sold now thru May 20 goes to the CV ...Food Bank. Featuring those iconic Rocky Mtn peaks and a this ultra soft shirt is sure to be among your favourites! Men's: black, grey or heathered navy Ladies: black, white or heathered navy www.kootenayclothingco.com Fairmont Hot Springs Mountainside Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Fairmont Creek Vacation Rentals Mountainside Vacation Villas Fairmont Mountainside Market Purple Cow Gift Shop

It's that time again, and Goertzen is donating 10% of sale to the CVFB!! Thanks.

Thanks to Fairmont Mountainside Market for doing this!!

And the beat goes on for the Valley supporting the CVFB! This week Sysco delivered a pallet of goods to us to distribute, From Scratch's Lara, Adrian and family cooked up a storm, Dale and Erin dropped off much needed flour and oatmeal, Annette made Easter baskets, and Kelsey Verboom's Front Porch Photo Project (https://www.cvfrontporchproject.com/) generated a number of donations!

BIG THANKS to Steve and Lori and staff at Sobey's for supporting us during the recent Christmas campaign collecting over $1650 as well as 198 $5 and $10 bags of food! The Valley cares...

Thanks for this project, Kelsey. Memories in the making, and support for the CVFB!

The Valley supports us: we support the Valley!!

It's been 2 weeks since we made the decision to stay open as long as we could provide hampers, and the Community is still stepping up their generosity!! This week we had amazing donations from Lara and Adrian at FROM SCRATCH, Gordon and Faith from Saunders Family Farm, Dale and family at The Old Blue Truck Farm, and Eric and his cohorts at AG Valley Foods managed to find a supply of canned vegetables for us. Also, Rod Turnbull made muffins for our GREAT volunteers!

And the amazing support for the CVFB from this Valley continues!! Many walk-in cash and food donations as well as a dropoff of goods by Gadasa from Grey Wolf, milk from Mountainside Markets, and some amazing meals being prepared for us by Lara and Adrian at From Scratch. We can now accept e-transfers at [email protected]!!

Clients, please note the new processes in place at the Food Bank. Call us prior to coming for a hamper, please.

Yesterday's sharing of our excess produce was successful. The first picture was at 3 PM just as we opened and went out to remind folks about social distancing, the second at 3:30 with Mom arriving with her kids, and the third at 4, by which time virtually everything was gone! Thanks to the restaurants in the Valley for sharing with us when they either reduced service or shut down: Huckleberry's, FUSE, Kicking Horse Coffee, ULLR, all the restaurants from Panorama Village, Gerry's Gelati, and Horsethief Creek Pub. People sharing with people - this is how we'll get by!!

Another amazing week of support from this Valley for the CVFB! Thanks to our most recent "angels": Rob from Huckleberry's Restaurant, Vincent from all the restaurants in Panorama, Justin at Taynton Bay Distillery who provided us with sanitizer, Mike Gray and his crews from Horsethief Creek Pub, Valley Ziplines, ULLR Bar, Scootin' Kootenay Tours, Columbia Valley Escape Room for yesterday's No-Contact Food Drive, Kicking Horse Coffee, Fuse, and all the volunteers, businesses and individuals who have stepped up in a number of ways to help our neighbours.

What a great way to spend this beautiful morning! Thanks to everyone that helped with donations and pickups! Such a great day... Online donations still welcome at https://www.canadahelps.org//ch/columbia-valley-food-bank/

Hello everyone, the Columbia Valley Food Bank has some extra produce from restaurants and generous folks around the Valley. We have distributed a such as we can to our clients. We will be putting the remaining food outside the food bank, tomorrow Friday March 27th starting at 3:00pm. There are also some homemade jams and jars that we are not able to give to our clients due to health & safety restrictions. Please come and help yourself. Anything remaining at 6:00pm will be given to local farmers to feed to animals. There is lots and lots of lettuce! Columbia Valley Food Bank

Cheers and thank you to everyone involved in organizing this! You are all amazing and your generosity is immensely appreciated Columbia Valley Food Bank Horsethief Creek Pub & Eatery Ullr Bar Columbia Valley Escape Rooms

What an amazing day yesterday at the Food Bank. It began with picking up 28 4-litre bottles of milk donated by Kicking Horse Coffee, and then to Invermere Sausage and Meat to pick up broth bones donated by Lisa. Arrived at the Foodbank just as Mike Gray from Horsethief Creek Pub arrived with a van full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and other food from the Pub, other businesses and individuals in Radium to share with our customers. He was shortly followed by Stew and C...rystal from Gerry's Gelati who arrived with coffee, buns, meat and gelato! During our business hours a number of individuals brought in donations and/or asked to volunteer, and Jessy offered to cook meals for clients who needed them. After our last customer left, the van from Fairmont Resort arrived full of donated items to replenish our shelves. Our volunteers were kept busy! Thanks to them and to all the amazing people and businesses in this Valley! See more

Cheers to Justin and staff at Rocky River Grill for helping take care of the Valley!!

January 2020 was our busiest month ever, until February. Now March looks like it will be busier. Last Thursday our shelves were virtually empty, and the order that AG Valley Foods were able to put together was so large we needed to call in volunteers to help unload it and restock for this week. Due to increased demand and the trying times brought on by the COVID situation, the Directors decided on Monday that we would for the present reduce hamper sizes by 2/3 and implement... a protocol of allowing only 1 client in the Foodbank at a time while the others wait in their cars or outside. By limiting access we hope to achieve the best distancing and take care of our Coordinator and volunteers (mostly seniors). At the same time we are amazed by the generosity the Valley continues to show. We have had walk -n donations from individuals and donations/offers of help from GreyWolf, Maxwell Realty, the Columbia Valley Economic Development Office, Copper Point Golf Course and others. Donations can be accepted at the Food Bank during open hours (Tuesday and Thursday 1 PM - 2:30 PM) or you can contact us by phone (250-342-0850), email ([email protected]) or on our Facebook page to make arrangements. Items that are most in demand include pasta, spaghetti sauce, canned vegetables and fruits, macaroni and cheese, beans, tuna, soups,and possibly snacks for the kids who now have to stay home. Thank you all.

The Columbia Valley Food Bank will be open tomorrow and Thursday from 1:00pm-2:00pm with precautions due to the COVID-19 virus. No clients will gather inside the waiting room. Instead, come to the door, get a number and remain in your vehicle. We will bring the order out to you. Please be advised that orders will be reduced due to order/stock shortages. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.

Huge thanks to Joe's NoFrills and Sherry who helped the CVFB glean 3 loads of fresh food that will go to our clients and has also been shared with local schools to provide students with healthy snacks and meals!! Thanks also to our amazing volunteers who helped load, sort and put away this windfall: Nesta, Lawanda, Jim, Bob,Tom and Larry

Thanks to Joe and his staff at NoFrills for the Holiday Food Drive which raised over $3450 and 4200 lbs of food, as well as their Pay-it-Forward campaign which netted $640! Great neighbours are the strength of this community!

Thanks again to our pizza volunteers (Lee, Cathy, Beth,Tom M, Gail, Kelsey, Tom G., Pam and Greg) who helped out at the Invermere Film Festival, and to the enthusiastic audience. See you next year!

A BIG THANKS to Bill Johnston for bringing the Invermere Film Festival to town and including us as a benefactor. See some great films and buy some pizza and pop corn to support the Food Bank. Thanks to our Friday night pizza specialists Lee, Beth, and Cathy, and also to Jim and Lawanda for making and bagging the popcorn!!