Loaves & Fishes are asking people to not canvas door to door for them, following one person approaching a regular donor for cash. It's not clear whether the person was actually raising money. (Nanaimo Loaves & Fishes)

By Alex Rawnsley

donation dilemma

Nanaimo Loaves & Fishes advise against door-to-door donations

Dec 9, 2022 | 2:11 PM

NANAIMO — It remains unclear whether it was done with the right intentions, or by someone looking for a quick buck.

Nanaimo Loaves & Fishes Community Food Bank reports it had been alerted of someone going door-to-door over the past week saying they were collecting money for the food bank. One of the people approached was a regular donor to the organization.

Peter Sinclair, Loaves & Fishes executive director, told NanaimoNewsNOW the person who was solicited politely declined to make a donation and reported it to Sinclair.

“Loaves and Fishes does not solicit donations door-to-door and anyone who is doing that is not doing so with authorization from Loaves and Fishes,” Sinclair said. “We want to make sure that everything is transparent and we receive all the funds that are intended for us.”

Door bell security camera footage was also submitted in case similar reports were made.

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Sinclair said it’s possible the offer to collect money was genuine, but they can’t be sure. As a matter of policy, they never approve solicitation on people’s doorsteps.

“We have had situations in the past where people show up at our offices saying ‘hey, I went door to door and collected this, here you go’. We gratefully accept that at the same time we communicate to them it’s not something we authorize and we ask they not do that in the future.”

Those looking to fundraise are encouraged to reach out first and fill out an application form on the Loaves & Fishes website.

The incident comes at a time where the organization is pushing out an increased volume of support for the region during its heavily leaned on Christmas hamper campaign.

“We are seeing increased demand for our services and that’s not just the increase we typically see at this time of year, we’re seeing an increase larger than we’ve seen in previous years at this time,” Sinclair said.

Sinclair said they are in a good spot to meet demand, but are constantly looking for more cash or food donations, or for people to fill one of the many volunteer shifts available.

More information on Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank initiatives can be found on the organization’s website.

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