Empties 4 Food bins have provided a significant financial jolt for the non-profit Nanaimo Loaves and Fishes Community Foodbank. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

Empties 4 Food

‘It has made a huge difference:’ empties program provides critical cash injection for local food bank

Apr 22, 2022 | 5:29 AM

NANAIMO — When bins converting empties into cash debuted five years ago, the head of Nanaimo Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank was excited about the potential.

However, executive director Peter Sinclair said he’s blown away by how successful the program has become.

Sinclair said last year Empties 4 Food netted $287,000 for Loaves and Fishes, well up from roughly $40,000 when the program launched in 2017.

“Its made a huge difference for us as an organization, as we’ve grown to serve more people we’ve needed to be able to act quickly on the opportunities before us and those opportunities require money.”

He said Empties 4 Food is a critical revenue generator, given they require about $110,000 monthly to operate.

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When the pandemic took hold, Empties 4 Food became more heavily used when more bins were set up.

Sinclair said leading up to 2020 the program netted Loaves and Fishes around $6,000 monthly.

“We jumped up to $25,000 and then its consistently stayed over $20,000 with our biggest month being $42,000.”

The bins, donated by Regional Recycling, accept any ready to drink containers with refundable markers.

Sinclair said Empties 4 Food bins are regularly cleared out from church parking lots and outside businesses stretching from Ladysmith to just south of Parksville, with most of the bins in Nanaimo.

“We’ve made it really, really easy for people to do the right thing and recycle their returnables and make sure that that recycling benefits a good cause.”

Sinclair said the program could expand beyond the mid Island area to the north Island where they deliver food to multiple communities.

Additional details on Empties 4 Food, including participating locations, can be found here.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes