This Thanksgiving, pay it forward with a food bank donation

The Thanksgiving holiday, a pause in the year to express gratitude for all of life’s bounty, is the perfect time to “pay it forward” and help to ensure that people in our community who are under financial distress can still access food for their tables.

“Over 3,300 households in Brandon receive assistance,” said Heather Symbalisty, executive director at Samaritan House Ministries Inc. (samaritanhouse.net), Manitoba’s second largest food bank.

The numbers are challenging. Almost 50 per cent of Samaritan House Ministries clients are children. The charity distributes 60 to 80 food hampers per day for a rough total of 20,000 hampers per year. That works out to over 147,000 pounds annually to help meet only the most basic of food needs.

“The community needs to know that our financial donations and food donations are down,” Symbalisty said.

“At at the end of August 2024, we had received 134,249 kilograms of food, which was fantastic. But this year, we have only received 126,118 kilograms of food. That left 8,100 kilograms of food that we had to find from other sources or to buy.

“By August 2024, we handed out 12,699 hampers. At the end of August 2025, we handed out 15,529 hampers so there has been an increase of just over 2,800 hampers.”

Samaritan House also receives food from Manitoba Harvest. They’ve increased their request from 700 units to 800 units every two weeks. They are also now purchasing pallets of non-perishable food because there simply isn’t enough being donated to keep up with demand.

“We are lower on protein items like meat as these are not coming in like in the past,” she said.

“Thankfully, we have been receiving some fantastic donations of perishable items from farmers in the surrounding areas.”

Samaritan House has several different ways to accept financial assistance from donors, including e-transfers or by credit card through Canada Helps at (canadahelps.org).

The financial office can help you complete donations by calling: 204-726-0758, ext. 6 or via email at: acct@samaritanhouse.net. Options include a monthly automatic withdrawal plan, and in-person cash or cheque payments at 820 Pacific Ave. Detailed information is on the donations page at samaritanhouse.net/give.

Some of the most needed items at the Samaritan House food bank include: canned items such as meat, vegetables, fish, and beans, soups and stews, and pasta sauces. Dry goods include pastas and whole grain cereal. Non-food items needed include: diapers, personal hygiene items, laundry and dish soap.

“All of the food we distribute is generously donated by community, corporate and private donors,” Heather Symbalisty said.

“Samaritan House Ministries Inc. appreciates all of the donations that we receive, from small to larger donations. We make everything count and go towards the people who are experiencing challenges accessing food.”

While food banks like Samaritan House continue to rely on local donations in individual communities, Harvest Manitoba helps to fill in some of the blanks in rural areas as a distributor of food throughout the province, including the Westman/Prairie Mountain Health region.

“Based on our records, we are distributing food to approximately 1,300 people in the region,” said Meaghan Erbus, director of network, advocacy, and education at Harvest Manitoba.

“But there are many food banks within that region that operate without the assistance of Harvest Manitoba and are just operating their own.”

Erbus said that distribution numbers have steadily increased.

“We’re historically at the highest number that we’ve ever seen. Our CEO Vince Barletta has mentioned that in 1985, we distributed 200,000 pounds of food. Today, on our 40th year of service, we go to that same amount of food every four or five days.”

Harvest Manitoba receives donations in a couple of different ways. Donating in the grocery store is a simple thing to do; just look for the collection bins on your way out.

“Right now, we’re encouraging folks to go to the website and make donations online, or via e-transfer, or over the phone,” Erbus said.

To make a financial donation, go to harvestmanitoba.ca/donate-money/online, email donations@harvestmanitoba.ca. or call 204-982-3581. Donating money does have some additional clout. A donation of $30 equals 31 meals. Erbus said they can leverage buying power to extend every dollar donated even further. It also allows the organization to address specific identified needs and help transport food to where it needs to go.

“We’re encouraging folks if they can, to donate to Harvest Manitoba or their local food banks. And support is needed more than ever,” Erbus said.

“For so many families, just trying to make ends meet can be difficult.”

University students also may struggle trying to make ends meet, and some struggle with buying groceries. The Brandon University Students’ Union created the BUSU Campus Cupboard to provide some help.

Located in the BUSU main office, the Campus Cupboard offers limited assistance with some free items, but focuses more on shelf stable preserved and dried foods, as well as fresh and frozen items, at a markedly reduced cost. Food donations are gladly accepted at the BUSU office on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can get more information on how to donate at BUSU by calling 204-727-9660 or emailing info@busu.ca.

Food banks and pantries can be found all throughout the Westman/Prairie Mountain Health Region. Each of them serves their immediate community, which means some needs may vary so it can be helpful to reach out to them individually. Prairie Mountain Health lists 34 outlets on their website.

You can also Google the phrase: “Prairie Mountain Health food banks listing” to go directly to the pdf list.

Whether you are donating at the grocery store bins, doing an in-person drop-off or making an online donation, it all adds up. Having enough to share is a great reason — and a great way — to be thankful.

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