WATCH: Airdrie shimmied the night away raising much needed funds

This past Saturday was the Airdrie Food Bank's Shamrock Shimmy, and no surprise, it was a hit! The sold-out event saw $39,701 raised for the Airdrie Food Bank.

Christine Taylor, the food bank's Marketing Communications Manager was thrilled with the turnout.

"I'm really happy with the results. I appreciate our sponsors, our donors, the people that donated auction items, the people that came out and had fun, spent money and helped the community at the same time."

This was the first time in three years that the Airdrie Food Bank has been able to hold its largest fundraiser of the year. The evening saw guests and decor decked out in St. Patricks Day Green.

"We are so lucky in Airdrie that people really get behind good causes and initiatives and we always feel the support and the love and we just very much appreciate it. Without those people that support us, we wouldn't be able to do the work we do."

Guests and supporters were treated to a full dinner, a 50/50 draw, a live and silent auction, entertainment provided by Airdrie Scots Pipes and Drums, dessert, dance and even a late-night snack before heading home for the evening.

Paul Brophy, the Chair of the board said a few words about the support and its importance in everything the food bank does for the community.

Lori McRitchie spoke about the importance of the volunteers who make it possible for the food bank to do what they do and help out with these events, including a special flower presentation to Christine Taylor who organized the Shamrock Shimmy.

One of the highlights of the event was the use of local statistics to answer questions from the Airdrie Food Banks Impact Report to get your place in the dinner line.

Some of the questions asked and their totals highlighted included:

How many diaper visits last year? 1296
How many visits to the Pantry Program? 10,845 visits
How many people did we feed last year? 44,676 people
How many food banks do we support? 15 local food banks
Breakfasts served at RJ Hawkey School? 2753 breakfasts
School lunch made by volunteers? 9469 school lunches
Percent of people we feed that are children? 48%
How many full-time staff would make up the 16, 204 staff hours our volunteers give to the food bank? 12 full-time
How many regular pickups do our volunteers make each week? 70 pick ups
What was the value of the food recovered and donated last year? 2085957
How many pounds of non-consumable food was diverted from the landfill, and enjoyed by our farmyard Neighbours? 48751 lbs
How many kitchen workshops were hosted by the AFB? over 250 participants
What was the increased percentage of the food the AFB need to purchase to keep up with the demands of our Neighbours in need? 22%
How many hampers were distributed to the community? 3648 hampers