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CBC British Columbia marked Make The Season Kind on Friday with events across the province, raising money for Food Banks B.C.
Anyone wishing to make a donation as part of the campaign can go to cbc.ca/kindbc, where a drop-down menu will direct your donation to any of the 111 food banks that are part of Food Banks B.C. You can also donate by text message — just text KIND to 20222 — or by phone by calling 1-866-226-4642 toll-free or 604-662-6470 within the Lower Mainland.
Donations for this year’s celebration hit $1,529,494.21 as of 9:30 p.m. PT Friday.
First launched in 1986, CBC B.C.’s annual fundraiser supporting food banks throughout the province has raised more than $24 million over the years.
Last year, community members raised $2,410,283.14.
A range of family-friendly events took place at the CBC Outdoor Plaza in downtown Vancouver, including live music and performances from local artists and a Make the Season Kind food truck.
CBC personalities broadcasted the event live under festive tents all day long.
WATCH | Make the Season Kind 2025 kicks off in Vancouver:
CBC B.C.’s 2025 Make the Season Kind events kick off Friday
It’s Make the Season Kind Day here at the CBC. It’s an annual fundraiser, raising money for Food Banks B.C. The CBC’s Michelle Gomez brings us some of the events happening at CBC Vancouver’s downtown plaza.
Kindness Karaoke capped off the evening in Vancouver where community members sang and were judged by professionals live on CBC Radio One.
CBC listeners on Vancouver Island visited the Goldstream Food Bank in Langford on Friday morning for a special Make the Season Kind broadcast of On The Island with Gregor Craigie.
CBC hosts Amy Bell and Stephen Quinn host a segment of the Make the Season Kind fundraiser event in Vancouver on Friday. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
A B.C. Interior-wide morning show was held for audiences outside the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island — featuring live music and local stories of kindness.
Canadian singer-songwriter ZADA kicks off the afternoon concert at CBC’s Make the Season Kind fundraiser event in Vancouver. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)
Increased need
This year, food banks across the province say the need for help is greater than ever as more than 100,000 British Columbians accessed food bank support in one month alone.
The number of visits to B.C. food banks has increased by nearly 80 per cent since 2019, and just under one-third of people in B.C. using food banks were children, according to Food Banks B.C. data.
Food Banks B.C. says there’s a growing trend of people with full-time jobs needing food banks to get by, and their report estimates 24 per cent of British Columbians are now experiencing food insecurity.
WATCH | Unprecedented number of British Columbians facing food insecurity:
Unprecedented number of British Columbians facing food insecurity
Food insecurity is at a record high in British Columbia, with more than one million people experiencing food insecurity. As Pinki Wong reports, Food Banks B.C. says many who use their services are employed.
Dan Huang-Taylor, the executive director of Food Banks B.C., says charities alone shouldn’t be expected to bear the responsibility for solving food insecurity, food access and hunger in the community.
“Through critical and decisive actions, we can arrest and reverse the trends we are seeing at the front lines of [B.C.’s] food banks, and collectively, we can work toward a British Columbia where no one goes hungry,” he wrote in a foreword to the organization’s annual report.
