In under 60 minutes, a 7 a.m. breakfast fundraiser in Newton raised a whopping $110,000 for Surrey Food Bank's Tiny Bundles program.
More than 400 people attended the 22nd annual Breakfast with the Bank event May 23 at Taj Park Convention Centre.
"We’re still feeling all the feels from Friday morning," Kim Savage, food bank executive director, wrote in an email that revealed the fundraising total.
"That support means over 5,500 cans of formula for babies in our community," she added. "It means less worry, more stability, and a stronger start for families doing their very best to get by."
The Tiny Bundles program now involves more than 200 families with children, and the number keeps growing as more Surrey residents are forced to seek food security.
Last year 8,338 cans of formula were distributed along with 2,265 toddler totes and 293 layettes (clothing for kids), according to Jennifer Roessler, communications lead.
The Breakfast with the Bank event is free to attend but people are encouraged to donate to the Tiny Bundles cause. Several local organizations attended with oversized cheques representing larger contributions.
A pair of award-winning fundraisers were honoured by Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, who posed for photos alongside Savage and local meteorologist Mark Madryga.
Ravi Kochhar, branch manager at TD Bank, was recognized for his long-standing support of the food bank both in and outside of his role at the bank. Directly and indirectly, his efforts have resulted in over $100,000 being raised for the food bank in the past 12 months alone.
Fellow award-winner Emma Sidhu, 12, has been fundraising on behalf of Surrey Food Bank since she was nine. In that time, she's raised over $21,000, an amount that has ensured that more than 25 families in the community had enough food for an entire year, Roessler noted.
