Since 1975, the Mustard Seed Street Church has been providing food for people in need. But now, the Victoria based charity is in need of very specific donations, protein.
The Mustard Seed Street Church's Director of Development, Janiene Boice says they have had an increase of demand, and it's hit them hard.
"We have an increase of families coming to our market to shop for their food hamper items. And with this increase, we've run out completely of peanut butter, tuna and beans. And these are the items that parents usually select for their children's lunches."
Usually the Mustard Seed puts in orders before the shelves become bare, but because of the influx of people needing foods after spring break, the stock that's on order won't arrive until next Friday.
In light of the bare shelves, Boice is calling on people to participate in the Mustard Seed's Protein Food Drive.
"What we're asking people from our community to do, is if they're grocery shopping over the weekend, if they can just swing by on route to work, 625 Queens, we'll have bins out there and can even run out to the car. Grab the tuna, grab the peanut butter, grab the canned beans, the good ones, the kinds that kids like. We'll grab those from you and it will fill the gap until the end of next week."
She specifies that, while chic peas and lima beans are accepted donations, they would prefer donations that could be used for school children's lunches. She says things like tuna and peanut butter go a long way, is nutritious, and kids will eat it.
She adds that there are Mustard Seed donation bins in grocery stores, where people can drop high-protein food, or they can come by for the actual food drive. Boice says people can also donate money online, and the charity will use the funds to order food at wholesale prices.
The Protein Food Drive is happening on Monday, from 8 am to 4 pm, at the Mustard Seed on 625 Queens.