CBC B.C.'s Food Bank Day donations have exceeded $2.4M

CBC British Columbia's 37th annual Food Bank Day broadcast took place Dec. 1, as demand for food banks grows across the province.

As of 9 a.m. PT on Monday, Jan. 1, this year's event has raised $2,446,235.78. This total includes all online donations and donations mailed in and received up to Dec. 22, 2023.  

Online donations are now closed.

An audience enjoyed live interviews, musical performances and special guests at the Vancouver Broadcast Centre on Dec. 1, while many more tuned into the radio broadcast or watched via a livestream.

Local artists and guests included Marie Hui, drag performer Kendall Gender and even Santa Claus himself.

CBC's Belle Puri and Karin Larsen accept donations over the phone at the CBC Vancouver Broadcast Centre on Dec. 1. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

CBC B.C. has now raised more than $19 million since Food Bank Day began, with $2,967,719.26 raised across the province last year alone.

But demand for food banks has only increased since then, according to Food Banks B.C.

Marie Hui performs with the Malcolm Aiken Quintet at CBC Food Bank day at CBC studios in Vancouver on Friday, Dec. 1. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Many more British Columbians are at risk of going hungry this year, according to Dan Huang-Taylor, executive director of Food Banks British Columbia.

He says 21 per cent more people accessed services this year compared to 2022 and donations have dropped provincewide, in some cases by over 30 per cent.

A small in-person audience enjoyed musical performances and live interviews at CBC Vancouver for Food Bank Day. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

The top three reasons given by clients for accessing services this year are the cost of food, low wages and the cost of housing.

One out of every three food bank users in the province is a child.