“Our community has been extremely generous with funding with donations. And we wanted to make sure that that money wasn’t just sitting in the bank, and that it was helping families,” Van Raes said. “There’s a huge need. Now that we’re in endemic mode, we have inflation issues. People are literally choosing whether to pay their rent or put food on their tables.”
“So we want to make sure that we can cover as many families as possible with just a little bit of something for them.”
The City of Penticton will be proclaiming November as Starfish backpack month, a program that works throughout BC to help kids with food security.
Empty bottles and cans are helping put food into the empty bellies of some Penticton kids.
The Penticton Elks Lodge No. 51 has been gathering empty bottles and cans for weeks, all in support of the Rotary Starfish Pack program that has been struggling during COVID-19.
Thanks to a new partnership with the Penticton Elks, the Rotary Starfish Pack Program in Penticton is now able to provide more backpacks to students in need!
For the second year in a row, Penticton’s Deckside Pool & Spa has made a huge splash in the community by donating $4,200 to the Penticton Starfish Pack Program.
After a successful launch in April 2017 of Starfish Pack program, Penticton Rotary is back at it again for a 3rd year! Starfish pack is a program which provides backpacks of food to local school aged children and their families on the weekends. The backpacks are packed with food with support from Save-On foods. The packs are then delivered to local pre-selected schools. They are distributed by the principal to children on Friday and returned empty on Monday for the process to begin again. The backpacks contain food to supplement meals for 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and some snacks.
Penticton Rotary Club are selling tickets for their upcoming fundraiser on Thursday, November 22nd to raise money for the Penticton Starfish Pack Program. Tickets available for purchase until November 18th. See poster below for details!
100 Women Who Care are making a difference in Penticton through Starfish Pack!
Read the results of the JCI ValleyDrive food and fundraiser Read Here