For every dollar donated, Moncton food bank receives chance to win $10,000

Food bank donations are at an all-time low, according to New Brunswick's food bank hub.

Executive director Chantal Senecal says June typically sees a decline in goods once the snow melts. 

"The holiday season is such a big time of year for people to donate and give, and that really allows the food banks to stretch those donations out until about springtime and then that's when it starts to go down a little bit," Senecal said.

But she's hoping more people will donate in June as part of the Great Canadian Giving Challenge, a public contest for Canadian charities raising money for a cause.

For every dollar donated to the Food Depot through the Great Canadian Giving Challenge website, the food bank will receive a chance to win $10,000.

"If we can win that $10,000, then we're going to be able to buy food, not only for the Moncton area, but for all food banks in the province of New Brunswick," Senecal said.

"There are some food banks that are very much in need, food banks that are in rural areas, First Nation communities, so we're really going to be able to make those dollars stretch and buy a big amount of food that we feel that we're going to need throughout those summer months."

Senecal said the Food Depot serves about the same number of people all year, even after the winter rush of donations.  

If we can win that $10,000, then we're going to be able to buy food, not only for the Moncton area, but for all food banks in the province of New Brunswick.- Chantal Senecal, Food Depot Moncton

"People are still struggling, people are still trying to recover from high heat bills, high costs throughout the winter, and we always see new people coming through our doors that are in need," she said.

As a part of their campaign, food banks in the province can be nominated to have their stories shared on the Food Depot's Facebook page.

"It's not only a fundraising campaign, but we wanted to be able to give a platform to give the story of the community, and what's going on in that community and why they're in need," Senecal said. "There's a lot of different situations happening in different areas."

Senecal said the prize money would go a long way during the summer months for all the food banks in the province, but right now, they're just asking for anything people can spare.

"We know people don't have a lot of time but anything helps, even if it's $5, it really puts us in the running to potentially win more money for our food banks."

The winner of the contest will be announced July 1.