As summer officially slides into fall, it’s not too early to be thinking about Thanksgiving or, more importantly, the dire shortage at the Newark Neighbours Food Bank.

In fact, it’s crucial that the community of Niagara-on-the-Lake come together, immediately, to pitch in and help restock the empty shelves at the town’s food bank.

This is essential so that Newark Neighbours can assemble the Thanksgiving food hampers it will distribute to 80 or more families around town on Thursday, Oct. 6.

How’s that possible, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, you might wonder? Welcome to the reality that clients of Newark Neighbours’ clients live with daily.

It seems wrong to be talking about people in Niagara-on-the-Lake needing help to put food on the table for themselves and their children.

In a town blessed with so much, with such wealth and prosperity, how is this possible?

We don’t know the full answer to that, though with inflation soaring, hard times as the COVID pandemic winds down and some people simply down on their luck, we can tell you it is not a problem that is going to fade anytime soon.

After all, Newark Neighbours has existed for more than 50 years and continues to fill a growing void in the community.

This Saturday, the hardworking members of the Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake and other volunteers will be busy collecting donations from residents.

The Porch Pick-up Food Drive is Newark Neighbours’ first such campaign so far this year but it comes at a critical time.

There are just a few days to get donations ready for pick-up – though, if you miss it, you also can drop off non-perishables at Newark Neighbours’ location on John Street near Peller Estates Winery.

Meanwhile, do some shopping for Newark Neighbours and check your own pantry shelves for non-perishables to donate. See the list of needed items in our news story on page 1 and in the food bank’s ad elsewhere in the paper.

Contact the food bank to arrange for a porch pick-up on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and as a community let’s ensure that others are able to have the sort of Thanksgiving holiday most of us take for granted.

Here’s how you can help: Register for the Porch Pick-up Food Drive by calling 905-468-7498 or emailing newarkneighbours1@gmail.com. And see the agency’s website, newarkneighbours.ca, for full details.