YVR and Quest surpass holiday hamper drive goals

Today, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) hosted its 14^th Annual Hamper Drive event in partnership with the Quest Outreach Society, providing 1,656 hampers for 9,936 British Columbians in time for the holiday season.

YVR employees, partners, passengers and the Sea Island community came together to fill the hampers with meal essentials and festive favourites to ensure delivery for families facing food insecurity across the Lower Mainland this holiday season.  The YVR-Quest pop-up market – a favourite from last year – was back for the third straight year.

“The holidays are a time for family and friends to come together over shared meals and beautiful food. What we’ve seen and experienced over the past year are increasing barriers to accessing good food and healthy groceries,” said Theodora Lamb, Executive Director of Quest. “We know more than 21 per cent of British Columbians, or just over one million people, live in food-insecure households. The incredible spirit and generosity of everyone at YVR makes a day like today, with a real impact on people in need, possible.”

YVR has been a committed partner to Quest Outreach Society and the organizations’ goal of ensuring access to healthy and affordable food since 2011. A shared commitment to supporting our community fuels the airport’s drive to host the holiday hamper event and ensure its success.

“Participating in the Quest Hamper Drive allows us to give back to our community in a meaningful way,” said Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO at YVR. "By coming together, we can help ensure that families facing food insecurity have access to meals during the holiday season. This initiative reflects our commitment to making a positive impact and supporting those in need."

The festive event at YVR included music, cookies, hot chocolate, and a TapSnap Photobooth. New this year was a YVR branded holiday greeting card station, allowing travellers, employees and community members to include a card in their hamper for a personal touch.

Hampers were packed with antibiotic-free and halal certified turkeys, fresh local produce (onions, carrots, potatoes, beets, and mandarin oranges), two packs of gravy and chicken stock, stuffing, cranberry sauce and a sweet holiday treat.

In addition to hosting the event onsite in the airport’s international terminal, YVR also donated $65,000 to Quest to support this initiative and its regular programming. 

Quest distributes the hampers to partner agencies and registered clients of their non-profit grocery stores.

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Click here for photos and video of the event.