Local McDonald's franchisees Colleen and Peter Buckley will again partner with the Inn of the Good Shepherd to host the 19th annual Loonies for Lunches back-to-school fundraiser from August 26 to September 8.
During the campaign, customers will be asked if they would like to provide a $1 donation for the Inn's food bank to provide school snacks.
Program Manager Adrienne McPhee said the annual initiative is "vital" to their organization.
"We typically serve about 800 to 900 children in our food bank every month so the school snacks, as you can imagine, they really go fast and kids need quite a lot of them every single week," she said. "This is really going to help us boost our supply, especially as we go into the start of the new school year."
McPhee said school snacks range from fresh fruit to granola bars and juice boxes.
Overall, there has been a 25 per cent increase in users at the food bank compared to the same time last year. McPhee said there has also been a dip of about 20 per cent in donations.
"So we're serving more people than ever with less resources," she said.
While there is not a fundraising goal this year, McPhee said past campaigns have raised as much as $8,000.
"Knowing that our food bank is going to have an awesome supply of school snacks, I think, relieves a little bit of that pressure that some parents and families feel going back to school because there are so many expenses," she said.
Participating restaurants include four Sarnia locations at Exmouth Street, Christina Street, London Road, and Confederation Street, as well as the Petrolia McDonald's.
"Thanks to the support and generosity of the Lambton community we're able to help so many local children in need," said McDonald's Franchisee Colleen Buckley. "We're excited for this year's 'Loonies for Lunches' campaign to raise as much money as possible for these deserving children."
Donations can also be made directly to the Inn through their website.