The generosity of people in Greater Victoria is undeniable around Christmastime.

But what happens in the summer, when many people have other things on their minds than contributing to food banks?

Not only do donations traditionally go down, the need this year has gone up dramatically, says Mustard Seed Food Bank director Brent Palmer. That's why the Victoria Real Estate Board's Christmas in July initiative is so welcome.

"It couldn't have happened at a better time," Palmer said.

March figures for direct service from the Mustard Seed's downtown Victoria branch showed an increase by 1,500 people served over the previous year, he said, pushing the total number being fed to 6,500. Of that number, 1,500 are children.

Re/Max realtor and past-president of the Victoria Real Estate Board, Tony Joe, said the hope for this second year of the program is to increase the awareness among real estate agents and the public.

"We're already getting better support than we did last year," he said, noting that the initiative brought in roughly $2,000 worth of non-perishable food and household items.

With nearly 100 offices around the region and around 1,300 agents, there is great potential for the program to take off this year, Joe added.

Donations will be collected at the various offices, but they will be distributed to the food banks in their region. Offices on the Peninsula will pass along donations to the Sidney Lions Food Bank, West Shore offices to the West Shore Food Bank and offices in the four core municipalities will help out the Mustard Seed.

Call your nearest real estate office to find out how where and when you can contribute.

editor@oakbaynews.com