Retired CBC Radio (Radio Canada International), NHK-Japan, BBC World Service broadcaster, Ian McFarland has been “retired” in Duncan for well over a decade now – and in his “spare time” he volunteers at one of several Duncan based organizations – one of them being the Cowichan Valley Basket society.
Cowichan Valley Basket Society is a member of Canadian Asoociation of Food Banks.
The Cowichan Valley Basket Society provides hot soup, sandwiches, doughnuts, and coffee Monday-Saturday from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM.
They serve anyone who is in need of a hot meal. As well, they provide food hampers once a month – Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10:00am – 1:30pm.
The Cowichan Valley Basket Society is completely non-profit and depends on the support of the people of the Cowichan Valley. Volunteers are most welcome; however, you must be 18 or older. Food donations are always welcome, as are monetary donations. Their contact number is 250-746-1566
Ian McFarland and I have been working together for 6 or 7 years on various “media” based fund raising schemes – and the most successful one has been from selling a series of nostalgic and current spoken word CD’s covering the topic of international media. In the time we have worked together, we have raised about $4000 for the Cowichan Valley Basket society.
Ian and I are always looking for some new ideas for raising money for the food bank. Today, while we had lunch in downtown Duncan (at the Craig Street Brew Pub) he offered up a very rare CBC Shirt for auction. Photo above left
We are going to auction this shirt off – with 100% of the sale price going to the Cowichan Valley Basket Society. Interested? Send me an e-mail for the auction link.
Brilliant, I thought. The Exploding CBC Logo shirt is one of the most coveted of all CBC items. Now here is your chance to put your hands on one. We are auctioning off this single cotton shirt (size medium) to the highest bidder.
Read more about the food bank over here and listen to the podcast on the bottom for even more background.
Back to the Canadian Association of Food Banks for a second.
The Canadian Association of Food Banks (CAFB) is an umbrella organization representing approximately 250 food banks across every Canadian province and territory. Member food banks and their agencies serve about 90 percent of people who use food banks.
In the short-term, their main focus – and that of their member banks – is feeding hungry Canadians. In the longer term, they are working together toward a hunger-free Canada.
To do what they do, they rely on a nationwide network of hardworking volunteers, corporations and donations from Canadians.
The CAFB Board of Directors is made up of two food bank representatives from each province. They operate according to a strict code of ethics, which has received international acclaim.
The CAFB
- Represents foods banks across Canada
- Acts as advocates for food bank users
- Works with food banks, corporations and government to solve Canada’s growing hunger problem
- Conducts research on hunger, including HungerCount, an annual survey of food bank use in Canada
- Distributes large food donations to member banks through the National Food Sharing System (NFSS)
- Promotes the dignity of food bank users
- Promotes the ethical stewardship of donated food – Surveys Canadians’ perceptions of the problem of hunger
Listen to the Podcast below from a CBC feature of our activities