Smaller Christmas hampers will go out this year, unless more people donate to the Christmas Hamper Program.
About 10,000 kilograms of food has been donated, about six tonnes less than by this time last year.
The hamper program is a joint effort of the Salvation Army and the Loaves and Fishes food bank to help the less fortunate over the holiday season.
Last year the program handed out 2,300 hampers containing a variety of canned and other non-perishable foods for singles and families on limited incomes.
More than 2,000 people and families are expected to sign up for hampers this year, and organizers now face the issue of how to meet the need with limited donations.
"We'll have to reduce the amount of food that goes into each hamper," said Jim Duddridge, program spokesman.
"We've already started that."
Volunteers are dividing up donated food into bags to make the hampers. How much food goes into a bag depends whether it's for a single or a family, and the size of the family.
"For each bag, we have set articles of food that go into it (and) we have already cut back a bag with say, three cans of beans to two, and three boxes of Kraft Dinner down to two," Duddridge said.
Donations are down more than 37 per cent from last year.
Last year was a banner year for donations, and "I don't know whether people are slow to get going this year, or what, but it's really affecting us."
Food and cash donations are accepted at most major supermarkets in Nanaimo, or at Hamperville, in the old Madill Building, 2560 Bowen Rd., Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 250-751-9780 or email [email protected] for information.
[email protected] 250-729-4235
