Thanksgiving is just around the corner, a time when many of us look forward to gathering around a full table with family and friends. But for thousands of people across the province, putting a holiday meal together is a serious financial struggle – especially these days.

To help ensure that nobody goes hungry, the VOCM Cares Thanksgiving Food Drive kicked off earlier this week.

Tina Bishop, the general manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, says demand is up and donations are down, so drives such as this one are important.

She says items like cereal go a long way as a box can feed a child breakfast for a week, canned meat and fish, peanut butter, canned vegetables, dry pasta and pasta sauce…they’re always in demand.”

Donations of food are welcome, but Bishop says monetary donations can also go a long way.

“For every ten dollars given, we’re able to source and distribute up to $205 worth of food. And that’s because of the partners we have in transportation and wholesale and the like,” says Bishop.

Collection bins are located on Metrobus routes and at some Sobeys locations across the metro region.