This year’s holiday train will be steaming through Kamloops in December as planned, despite being a few thousand dollars lighter in load.

Whether by miscommunication with BC Lottery Corporation or a change in procedure, the Kamloops Food Bank failed to secure its main sponsor and will have to find some other way to make up $10,000 it normally counts on to hold the event.

BCLC had sponsored the Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday Train’s festivities for the last two years, but it won’t be doing so this time when the locomotive rolls by the Interior Savings Centre on Dec. 16.

Kari Benton, the food bank’s events and fundraising co-ordinator, said the organization submitted its funding request to BCLC in October, but was told the funding was frozen and it wouldn’t be getting money this year.

Despite the setback, Benton said the event will go ahead as scheduled.

She said it means the food bank will have to work much harder to put on the event and rely on local media to help get the word out.

“It’s nice to start an event with $10,000,” she said.

“It feels like we’ve had to take three steps backwards to replenish that money,” she said.

BCLC is defending its decision to not sponsor the train this year.

The Crown corporation said it encourages charitable organizations to submit sponsor requests at the beginning of its fiscal year in April.

A spokesperson for BCLC confirmed the food bank put in its request in October, after the corporation committed its community-sponsorship budget for the year.

However, BCLC said its employees will be supporting the food bank and have set up a committee to do so.

BCLC officials also suggested the food bank could get funding for 2010, if it applies early enough.

That’s what Benton intends to do, though she maintains the food bank had submitted its past requests in the fall and received the money without a problem.

In the meantime, other organizations have stepped up with donations including a $2,000 contribution from the United Steelworkers union and $1,500 from Sun Life.

Each year, the holiday train visits more than 100 communities in seven states and six provinces across North America to raise food, money and awareness for local food banks.