The Olive Tree Food Bank is on the receiving end of a $10,000 gift from Lloydminster’s Gold Horse Casino and the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, SIGA.
Pat Cook, VP of Corporate Affairs says one of SIGA’s five key values is Wetaskiwin, the Cree word for sharing.
“That’s one of our guiding principles. It means sharing resources or sharing the land, and in this instance, we take it as sharing our resources. That’s something that resonates with our employees – being able to share with other people as we grow our business.”
SIGA is donating $225,000 this year to community programs supporting food security in Saskatchewan.
Jana Thompson, Chief Operating Officer with the Olive Tree in expressing their gratitude says the food bank has seen an increased demand for services over the last year.
“We have seen an uptick in food hamper requests and food support to other programs that we contribute to around the city. So, this donation is amazing as it enables us to increase our food bank operations and capacity.”
She adds the Olive Tree is getting requests from about three to five new individuals or families each week. Last year the non-profit distributed over 7,500 food hampers and had over 23,600 program visits.
