Food bank looking for donations to help people celebrate their birthday

The Strathcona County Food Bank is looking for particular donations to help make birthdays special for clients.

The Strathcona County Food Bank is looking for donations to help make birthdays special.

One of the items the food bank provides is birthday bags, which contain things like balloons, plates, icing and cake ingredients.

The idea came from a volunteer who saw families having to make the choice between having a party and paying for necessities like electricity, according to the organization’s co-chair.

“(Families) really love it,” Tracey Cyca said. “It helps them to normalize their situation for their kids and gives their kids something to look forward to.”

The food bank has been helping residents in Sherwood Park and rural Strathcona County for 43 years.

In the last five years, requests for birthday bags have doubled from four or five a week to eight or 10, added Cyca.

“That speaks to our demand, but it also speaks to how fun the program is,” Cyca said.

The bags are also good tools for teaching kids about the food bank in a way they can understand.

“It’s hard to teach kids about a food bank, but when you can put it in terms that they can relate to, ‘Oh, you mean that they might not have a birthday party if we don’t help?’ it really brings it home for them,” she added.

The bags cost between $15-$20 to make. The food bank welcomes financial donations and also groups putting together bags or gathering particular items through drives.

Items needed for the bags include:

• boxed cake mix,
• containers of icing,
• sprinkles,
• balloons,
• candles,
• cupcake holders,
• paper napkins, and
• paper plates.