Realtors Care Food Drive Breaks Records

Wednesday, 8 May 2024 09:23

Photo Credit: Woodstock Ingersoll Tillsonburg & Area Association of Realtors Facebook page

The 13th annual Realtors Care Food Drive collected 38,000 pounds of food for Salvation Army food banks.

OXFORD COUNTY - It was a record-breaking year for the Realtors Care Food Drive.

Local realtors and volunteers collected 38,000 pounds of food for local Salvation Army food banks on Wednesday May 1st. This works out to over $121,980 worth of donations, according to the Food Bank Canada guidelines for donation value.

When you break down the numbers, Woodstock received the most donations with 25,000 pounds of food ($80,250 worth). Ingersoll brought in 9,000 pounds ($28,890 worth), and Tillsonburg had 4,000 pounds ($12,840 worth).

Alison Porter, the President of the Woodstock Ingersoll Tillsonburg and Area Association of Realtors (WITAAR), says over 220 volunteers hit the streets of Woodstock, Ingersoll, Tillsonburg, Sweaburg, Embro, and Innerkip on Wednesday May 1st to help collect donations.

“The weather was beautiful to do the pickup. I am very proud of our members and the support they give to this amazing event, which continues to be a remarkable success every year. This is the first year we have covered all routes in all the towns. We want our communities to know that your local REALTORS® are not just real estate representatives, but friends and neighbours who care about the communities in which they live. I would also like to take the time to personally thank our REALTORS® Care Committee for all their hard work and dedication that they put towards creating such a successful and well-received event every year.”

Over 100 of the volunteers were WITAAR members.

This was the 13th annual Realtors Care Food Drive, and Porter is grateful for the community's support over the years.

"The generosity from our communities is amazing and it is expected that the food raised will help keep our local food bank's shelves stocked up for many months to come, through the summer and into the Fall. It has been 14 years since the inception of the REALTORS® Care Food Drive, one missed from COVID and it is estimated that over of 288,000 pounds of food has been collected at this event for our local food banks to date."