The Salvation Army's annual kettle campaign is about halfway through.
Every Christmas season, the Salvation Army in Smithers puts the iconic red kettles near all three grocery stores to give people a chance to donate to its charitable causes.
This year they were able to get some mini kettles and set them up at other places around town as well.
Karen Bancroft with the local branch said all the money raised stays in the community.
"Basically it goes to food," she explained. "It's not paying rent, it's not hiring people. We operate the food bank, the year-long food bank, and we buy food. So we need money to buy food."
The Salvation Army on Main Street also provides lunch bag meals throughout the week and, twice a week, they serve a hot meal.
"It's a hot meal, we're not talking soup in a bun, we mean roast beef or chicken or potatoes and vegetables and desserts," Bancroft explained. "For many of our people, it's the best meal of the week for them."
She added the need in the community is increasing tremendously. For their hot meal nights, they used to serve about 50 people, now it is more than 80 people each time.
"It isn't just single people, sometimes families. And they're not just homeless people. They're often people who we call the working poor," she said. "They're working, they're doing the best they can, but they just don't have enough money, particularly with the cost of food and rent by the end of the month, things are too tight, you know? And when we say households, we're talking children too, not just adults."
They also offer emergency clothing to people, such as socks, underwear and outdoor accessories.
The local branch has a goal of $20,000 and Bancroft said they are on track to hit that again this year thanks to the community support.
"It's anybody who needs some help is always welcome at the Salvation Army. Sometimes people need help for a long time, other times it's people who are just down on their luck for a little while," she said. "I went out to a kettle bell and I've said so many people approach me and say, you know, 20 years ago, I was a single mom, and I needed some help, and the Salvation Army helped me, and now they're giving us $50 kettle bell because they were able to get back on their feet again."
The kettles will be out until Dec. 20.
