Omicron Variant Influential final spurt for the London Business Cares Food Drive

During a break for the London Business Cares Food Drive (LBCFD), a new variant of COVID-19 is affecting the campaign.

Last week’s boost revolved around cash and checks, but financial contributions are currently lower compared to last year.

“Omicron really worries people, and rightly so,” said Wayne Dunn, campaign chairman for the LBCFD. “We get it, but that’s more worrying [Omicron] and keep business open than is the case now with Christmas or the Business Cares Food Drive. “

This week a Tampon Tuesday event had fewer visitors than usual and Friday’s Be a Fan, Bring a Can event at the London Knights would have been massive, but they got zero when the game was canceled.

The good news is that the food donations were excellent.“Our grocery weekend, which was two weeks ago, was up a remarkable seven percent,” said Dunn. “That was massive, but we found that financial donations, typically received from small, medium, and large businesses, weren’t nearly as high as they were this time last year.”

Cash and checks are important all along the route because people need more than non-perishable groceries.

“The fresh food and the protein in the meat really makes a huge difference to families,” said Chantell Carreiro, a volunteer director of the London Food Bank.

“It’s really expensive to be able to make these purchases.”

Dunn says the money that comes late will be used to buy 80 percent of the eggs and milk.

“Some of the food banking programs we run are renewing our harvest programs,” said Dunn. “We bought the greenhouse projects last year, but a lot of that money will go towards existing food projects we’re running and buying food we haven’t collected in the past three weeks.”Volunteers sort groceries at the London Food Bank just days before the London Business Cares Food Drive closes on December 18, 2021. (Brent Lale / CTV News)The campaign ends on December 22nd with dozens of boxes of groceries being shipped from their warehouse at Edge Automation to the London Food Bank.

All last minute donations can be made by depositing money at 363 Sovereign Rd. on Monday or Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or at https://businesscares.ca/.

“We can also use more baby food, food, diapers and toilet paper is always one of the things the volunteers are happy to give out because it’s one of the things families always need but we don’t get often,” said Carreiro.