Dominion’s 2023 Holiday Food Drive is officially underway, and the Community Food Sharing Association says it is desperately needed.

Food Banks Canada’s annual Hunger Count report says that Newfoundland and Labrador has seen a 12.4 per cent increase in food bank use since last year, and upwards of 44 per cent since 2019.

General Manager with the Community Food Sharing Association, Tina Bishop, says there is a tremendous need.

She says the holiday food drive is very important to them, and with food bank use already at an all-time high, donations are needed now more than ever.

The food drive runs until Christmas Eve.