The 19th annual Friends Helping Friends Food Drive is this weekend and CTV Calgary and Canada Safeway are partnering to collect donations to make a difference for families in need.

The Calgary Food Bank has been putting food on the table for hundreds of Calgarians for over 30 years.

The initiative began in a church basement with four volunteers and a passion to do something to feed the less fortunate members of the community.

Since then the Calgary Food Bank has grown into a million dollar organization that utilizes more than 4000 volunteers to keep the line running and donations going out to the community.

The food service foundation moved into new digs in 2002 and its 60,000 square foot warehouse can store about a million pounds of food.

It is estimated that the organization has served over a million Calgarians since it launched in 1982.

Each day, up to 100 volunteers give their time to help and last year they logged almost 100,000 hours feeding hungry Calgarians.

Cathy Lindstrom is one of the volunteers who work on the front line.

“It’s a happy place to come. If you’re volunteering you’re doing it because you want to’” said Lindstrom.

Thelma Henry has been with the food bank almost from the beginning and says things have changed a lot since then.

“There were very few people in the warehouse at that time. There might be three people a day,”said Henry.

Last year, close to 140,000 Calgarians received food hampers from the food bank.

Join CTV Calgary, the Calgary Food Bank and Canada Safeway on Saturday at the Aspen Safeway store for the Friends Helping Friends Food Drive.

You can also make a cash donation to the Calgary Food Bank right here.