A two-day donation drive at the Langley airport collected about a ton of food, 400 toys and more than $1,000 in cash contributions for the Nicola Valley Food Bank in Merritt.
Held Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10-11, it was the work of the Langley-based nonprofit British Columbia Airlift Emergency Response Operations (BC Aero), a volunteer group created from an ad hoc airlift of food and emergency supplies during the atmospheric river that brought heavy flooding to the Fraser Valley in 2021.
BC Aero president and founder Shaun Heaps explained the Merritt food bank was one of the agencies the airlift assisted, and still needed help recovering from 2021’s wildfires and catastrophic flooding that forced the evacuation of all 7,000 residents of Merritt when heavy rainfall caused the Coldwater River to overflow its banks.
“When we did the fly-out last year the Nicola food bank was one of the [agencies] that we flew out for, and did supplies for,” Heaps told the Langley Advance Times.
“They reached out and they needed help, so we’re helping them again.”
A public call was made for non-perishable food products, and gifts of unwrapped toys, or cash.
Aero spokesperson Mike Davenport said the Guru Nanak temple in Surrey worked with BC Aero, providing, among other things, home-cooked food for visitors and volunteers at the airport collection point, and contributing “about half of the toys.”
All of the contributions were delivered on Wednesday, Dec. 14, to the Nicola Valley Food Bank for distribution before Christmas.
B.C. Aero helps provide disaster relief services following major events such as earthquake, forest fire, floods, and landslides by organizing pilots and ground personnel.
It has been called a “food bank with wings.”
More photos from the event can be viewed at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: All-volunteer relief effort flies supplies from Langley to flood-ravaged communities
READ ALSO: Langley Township helps fund volunteer relief pilots group
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.