The fifth annual Restaurants for Change fundraiser for the Nelson Community Food Centre raised over $20,000 this fall even though the local restaurant industry has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

This year’s event, held on Oct. 17, saw 14 local restaurants take part in donating their gross sales from dinner service to the food centre. The $20,000 amount is down slightly from last year when 16 restaurants raised over $25,000. The money will help fund the Nelson Community Food Centres four programs: the Good Food Bank, Food Skills, the Gardens and Harvest Rescue.

Despite raising less money this year, Andrew Creighton from the Nelson Community Food Centre was pleased with the outcome.

“The money is part of it but it’s a great opportunity to encourage people to talk about food security issues.”

CJLY also spoke with Tom Thomson from the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce about the current state of the restaurant industry and the impact that could have had on the success of Restaurants for Change.

Thomson mentioned increased business costs, the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising interest rates for both businesses and consumers as factors keeping the restaurant industry in decline.

Listen to the story on CJLY below: