Smile Cookie Campaign spurs friendly food bank competition

MERRITT – The Smile Cookie Campaign, put on by Tim Hortons, is back and has a friendly competition in place between two food banks.

The Nicola Valley Food Bank and the Lake Country Food Bank are trying to raise as much as they can by having a race to see what local Tim Hortons can sell the most smile cookies.

“The other day I received a phone call from Joy, who is the executive director at the Lake Country Food Bank, and we’ve known each other for years, she been a mentor to me, and she asked if we were up for the challenge and I said it’s on, so we are trying to outsell the Lake Country locations,” said Derlanda Hewton, with the Nicola Valley Food Bank.

The loser of the competition will have to go to the winning food bank and put on their shirt for a picture, but at the end of the day Hewton said it’s about the donations and support.

“I really don’t want to be going there and put on their shirt, I would rather have Joy come see us here and wear one of ours, but it doesn’t matter, we are just appreciative of everything, and we are just trying to make it a fun event as well.”

Aside from the challenge, the Nicola Valley Food Bank has been receiving donations for several years from this campaign but want to be more involved in the event that supports them.

“In past years, we really haven’t been interactive with it, but this year, we have people going to help decorate cookies and we are trying to be more part of the event,” added Hewton.

Last year, the Smile Cookie Campaign donated just over $5,100 to the Nicola Valley Food Bank, funds that Hewton said are crucial.

“It’s a huge help to our purchasing to be able to purchase items. We don’t have food drives like we did in the past so a lot of it is dependent on the money coming in to purchase goods.”

Head over to Tim Hortons, 3340 River Ranch Rd, and buy a smile cookie to help support Derlanda in her competition and to contribute to the food bank. The Smile Cookie Campaign runs until May 7.