An army of volunteers and supporters of the Daily Bread Food Bank are saying thanks as they celebrated a sense of community and shared vision to end hunger.

The Food Bank on October 10 held its first Thanksgiving Drive Thru Food Drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its facility at 191 New Toronto Street.

The goal this year was to collect 272,000 pounds of non-perishable food and raise $1.9 million to ensure that ‘our neighbours in need have access to nutritious food.’

There were many vehicles filled with food items that drove up to the facility to make contact-free drop-offs.

NHL player Michael Del Zotto and friends from the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association were in attendance this year to help with the drive.

Mayor John Tory, Etobicoke Lakeshore MP Christine Hogarth and MPP James Maloney were also on hand to help out and thanked supporters for their donations.

Tory said this year things were done differently but “Torontonians came through to support each other.”

Daily Bread officials say there has been a 200% increase in new clients accessing food banks in Toronto since COVID-19 struck last March. Visits to the food bank have risen from 15,000 people a week to over 25,000 weekly.

They said the effects of the pandemic will ‘continue to be felt in our community for many months to come especially by those confronting poverty, homelessness and hunger.’

Food insecurity has affected nearly one in seven Canadians during the pandemic, according to Statistics Canada.

Donations of cash can be made to www.dailybread.ca