A food drive that started out in 2009 in Burnaby has grown to include the Langleys and helping out the Langley Food Bank.

The BC Thanksgiving Food Drive has grown into a province-wide effort to fill food bank shelves.

From Sept. 10 to 15, volunteers will deliver bags to select homes around Langley. If people want to participate, they are asked to put non-perishable food items in the bags which will then be picked up Saturday, Sept. 15. (Bags must be put out by 9:30 a.m.)

“We had phenomenal success across the province last year. In total we were able to collect some 250,000 pounds of food. And we’ve set our sights even higher this year by expanding our collection routes and reaching out to additional community partners,” said Andrew Rolfson, BCTFD executive director.

The project that started in Burnaby through members of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) has now expanded to include dozens of partner organizations and food banks serving some 50 communities throughout the province.

Langley is in its second year of participation.

“Last year we were overwhelmed with the generosity of Langley residents and needed extra transportation to get the food product from our drop off station to the Langley Food Bank,” said local spokesperson Lauren Kano-McGregor.

It’s difficult to provide exact neighborhoods where bags will be dropped off at homes.

“It’s totally dependent on where our volunteers live – they typically deliver bags in their own neighborhood,” she said. “Generally speaking, the bags are delivered to pockets of Langley including Walnut Grove, Brookswood, Willoughby and others.”

People who don’t receive a food drive bag can also participate by dropping off donations at the food drive staging area, 20370 82nd Ave. on collection day. Anyone wanting to donate money should stop by the collection centre in Willoughby or the food bank, located at 5768 203rd St.

The Langley Food Bank website www.langleyfoodbank.com has an updated list of the items of must urgent need.

More information about the Thanksgiving campaign is at bctfooddrive.org.

“We anticipate having more than 6,000 volunteers throughout the province this year,” Rolfson said. “We know many people wish to help, whether by volunteering or donating food. We welcome all who wish to participate, and hope we’ll be able to surpass last year’s results.”