When Whitehorse Food Bank‘s Executive Director Stephen Dunbar-Edge told CBC reporter Sandi Coleman things were looking bad he wasn’t kidding; the shelves were dangerously bare and emergency food hampers for the 1200 monthly clients were at risk.

YEU Local Y010 President Tammi Sikorski heard Stephen’s interview and decided to see how the Union could help. She spoke with her Local’s Executive and together they pledged what they could, issuing a challenge to other Locals to match their $700 donation. What happened next is the sort of thing that makes us all proud to be Yukoners.

Yukon Employees’ Union announced they would match the total donations pledged by the Locals, and  issued a challenge to its membership. Members were encouraged to make individual grocery purchases of $50 & take a photo of their purchase, posting it to the Yukon Employees’ Union Facebook page. By delivering  food directly to the Food Bank with a grocery receipt, name & address, donors receive a taxable donation receipt at the end of the tax year; that’s a win-win.

We also invited our members to join us for a massive scale shopping extravaganza on Saturday August 2nd. About 20 keen volunteers with carts and HUGE shopping lists loaded the Food Bank’s van and the Y010 trailer to the rafters, then delivered and shelved food at the Food Bank’s Alexander Street location. It was fantastic, energizing and FUN! It reminded all of us once again that unions really help keep the Unity in Community, and YE-Unity is pretty impressive!
The Food Bank needs consistent support. That support can be food or financial donations, but to provide emergency food for individuals and families in crisis they, need sustainable and reliable funding they can count on.

Consider becoming a Food Bank donor. The donation options are outlined on their website. Green Apple donors agree to a monthly contribution of $10 or more, allowing a predictable income and operating budget for the organization. Want to volunteer? Contact them at 393-BANK(2265) or through their website, www.whitehorsefoodbank.ca. Volunteers are always needed and summer is a particularly challenging time, with many volunteers away.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our fund and food drive. We want to extend our gratitude to the folks at Superstore too; they added $200 to our shopping budget and waived a bulk order fee allowing us to spend all the donated funds on much needed food. In all, Locals Y010, Y011, Y023, Y017 and Y024 and Y034 made donations which, when matched by YEU totalled $6500. Thanks everyone!