Nourish Cowichan is partnering with 6 grocery stores in the Cowichan Valley this month for their “Nourish Your Community” campaign.
They’re hoping to raise 50-thousand dollars to help roughly 500 families afford their groceries this holiday season.
“We’ve seen an alarming increase this year in the number of children accessing our school food programs, and it’s deeply worrying to think that without our help, those children and their families might end up going without over the holidays,” said Executive Director of Nourish Cowichan Fatima De Silva.
According to De Silva, they plan to help families by giving them gift cards that will allow them to shop for food, free from stigma and show them the Cowichan Valley cares.
A report by Island Health in 2023 showed that 13 percent of children in the Cowichan Valley come from low-income homes.
Until the end of December, you can go into any participating store and donate 5, 10 or 20 dollars at the till or donate online on Nourish Cowichan’s website. Stores taking part in the fundraiser are Save On Foods, Thrifty Foods and Country Grocer in Duncan and Country Grocers in Cobble Hill, Chemainus and Lake Cowichan.
Nourish Cowichan was established in 2017 and currently supports roughly 1,700 kids and 400 families every week in the Cowichan Valley, through breakfast, lunch snack and weekend food programs.
