More than $300K raised for Harvest Manitoba through Make the Season Kind campaign
Harvest and its partners support about 108,000 Manitobans every month
CBC Manitoba's annual charity drive in support of Harvest Manitoba brought in more than $300,000 to help fill food banks and the cupboards of people around the province.
Make the Season Kind, a full day of programming, ran from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday in support of Harvest and its partner agencies.
A total of $325,250 was raised.
The day featured live music and inspiring stories on CBC Radio 990 AM and 89.3 FM in Winnipeg.
That included performances by the Meadows West School Choir, Erin Propp and Larry Roy, Don Amero, Madeleine Roger, the Winnipeg Nurses Choir, Ila Barker and Son of Dave (former Crash Test Dummies member Benjamin Darvill).
Last year, Make the Season Kind set a monetary donation record, with $364,559 raised. The 2021 campaign raised $306,037.
A $30 donation buys approximately 15 kilograms of food, Harvest said.
There are three ways to help Harvest Manitoba to help others:
- The donation line: 1-204-982-3581.
- Online.
- Drop off food items at Harvest Manitoba, 1085 Winnipeg Ave.
Harvest works with about 380 agencies all over Manitoba: food banks, soup kitchens, daycares, schools.
With the cost of food rising, fewer people can afford to feed themselves.
More than 453,000 kilograms of food is required every month and nearly half of Harvest's clients are young children.
The organization's latest report, released Thursday, says the number of people using food banks has risen by 150 per cent since 2019, with a 30 per cent increase since just last year.
It also found the number of employed people relying on food banks jumped sharply this year. In 2021, 16 per cent of food bank users had jobs, but that climbed to 24 per cent by 2022, and it's now 41 per cent.
There was also a "substantial influx" of clients who are newcomers — with the highest number from Ukraine, followed by Nigeria and Eritrea.
More than one in four food bank clients in Manitoba were newcomers to Canada, a Harvest survey of about 500 clients between May and September suggested.
Half the people using a food bank for the first time in Winnipeg were Ukrainians who fled to Canada when Russian forces invaded their country in February 2022.
Harvest's Top 10 most wanted food items are:
- Canned fruit.
- Canned soup/stew.
- Canned tuna.
- Canned vegetables.
- Pasta.
- Pasta sauce.
- Rice.
- Peanut butter.
- Baby formula/food.
- Instant oatmeal.
Make the Season Kind schedule
6-8:30 a.m.: Information Radio with Marcy Markusa
Start the day with host Marcy Markusa and performances from Meadows West School Choir, Erin Propp and Larry Roy, and Don Amero.
Noon-1 p.m.: Radio Noon with Marjorie Dowhos
Tune in at noon with host Marjorie Dowhos for a performance from Madeleine Roger.
3-6 p.m.: Up to Speed with Faith Fundal
Join host Faith Fundal for performances from the Winnipeg Nurses Choir, Ila Barker and Son of Dave.
Donation phone lines were open until 7:30 p.m. Friday and for a short time on Saturday morning, from 6-9 a.m. Online donations for the campaign were accepted until end of day Sunday.