Tristan Newsome, the Whitehorse Food Bank’s executive director, is deeming the annual spring food drive a success.

“Our warehouse is very full,” he told the Star today. “The community was so supportive.”

The food drive was held Tuesday and Wednesday. Volunteers with churches around the city went door-to-door collecting bags full of food for the food bank.

The bags had been dropped off a couple of weeks earlier for residents to fill and leave out for pickup on the collection date.

This year, the food bank also had volunteers onsite throughout Wednesday focused on organizing the goods brought in Tuesday evening.

That helped ensure there was space for the many bags full of groceries that arrived Wednesday evening.

Today, Newsome said he’s happy to have a warehouse stocked with about two months’ worth of grub, including a lot of much-needed items like canned tuna and jarred peanut butter, among others.

“Those are hot-ticket items,” he said.

As he noted, the spring food drive is extremely important for the organization.

It marks that time after the winter holiday season (when many donations stream in to help keep things going for a few months) and the summer season when donations drop a bit as Yukoners get out and about.

A fall food drive organized by local schools helps stock shelves later in the year ahead of the winter and Christmas holiday season.

Food bank officials continue to sort out the donations that have come in over the past two days through the food drive.

However, Newsome said anyone who might have missed the drive or want to drop off donations can continue to do so at the food bank on Alexander Street or in the large donation bins at many local grocery stores.

There are also financial donation options available through the food bank’s website at http://www.whitehorsefoodbank.ca/donations/