BC Ambulance staffers (l-r) Cory Davoren, Deb Standen, Shawn Morash and Rob Pritchard take food donations Saturday. Photos 250News

Prince George, B.C. – B.C. Ambulance staff members in Prince George are out collecting food donations for the Saint Vincent de Paul Society which will distribute them to those in need in our community.

The BC Ambulance Red and White Hunger Fight is its 10th annual food drive.  Staff volunteers, about 24 of them over the course of a weekend, are accepting food donations until 5 pm today outside the Save-On-Foods store on the Hart, and from 11 am to 5 pm tomorrow at the Save-On College Heights location.

Non-perishable items are preferred but co-ordinator Rob Pritchard says because St. Vincent de Paul volunteers are transferring donations regularly during the day, even items like hams, turkey and other perishable goods are being accepted for those in need.

Pritchard says the donated goods are distributed “through the St. Vincent de Paul Christmas hampers and the excess goes to support their daily soup kitchen and all the help they give our less fortunate people in our city.”  He says if you’re wondering what to donate “we have a list (handed out outside the stores), so if anybody’s looking for a suggested item that’s on the list, just grab an item or two, drop it at the ambulance on your way out and we deliver it.”

(That’s Cheryl Schlesinger and Terry Hinch in the photo above who were also volunteering at the Hart store Saturday)

The list includes things like crackers, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, pasta and sauces, pancake mix and syrup, rice, soups, canned fruit and vegetables, jams, meals in a can, hot chocolate and other products.

This is the 10th year of the food drive here and Pritchard is blown away by the generosity of the residents of Prince George.  “It’s been amazingly successful and it seems to get better every year.  We’re on pace for a record year this year.  Even with the frigid temperatures last weekend we put a little over 150 banana boxes stuffed full of food (outside the Spruceland and Parkwood Sav-On stores).  Our goal is always to get 250 boxes and we exceeded that last year but this year I think we’re on pace for over 250 for sure.”

He thinks the predicted warming of temperatures on Sunday will be a help but adds “Prince George are hardy folk, I mean they came out last weekend in minus 26 and we had amazing donations.  It was non-stop and was much appreciated.”

Pritchard says prior to coming to Prince George he was in Victoria but says the people here are “crazy generous, crazy in a good way but insanely generous.  Victoria had a base population of what, 350,000 people and the people of Prince George easily had double the donations that Victoria did.  The folks here are truly amazing.”

Again, you can support the needy of Prince George and the BC Ambulance food drive at the Hart Save-On-Food store until 5 pm today and at the College Heights Sav-On store from 11 am to 5 pm Sunday.

Everything donated, 100 percent of it, goes to those in need.