Food Bank Leans In To Help Out
The Queens County Food Bank is putting their shoulder into helping people get through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clients are not allowed to come in person to collect their orders, so a team of volunteers has sprung up to create a supply chain from the Food Bank to the client’s doorstep.
Charlotte M. White, Chair of the Queens County Food Bank says it’s a very time and labour intensive process but necessary to ensure clients receive the food.
And with so many people struggling to work, more people are relying on the food bank to get by.
“Everybody has their set bills they have to make and the only place they can take money from is their food budget. I mean your rent and your utilities, you know you have to pay those, right?”
White says on average the Food Bank serves 200 families each month, but that number can fluctuate.
She’s grateful for the number of people who have really stepped up to help, donating both their time and money.
“The community’s been very kind to us. But we’ve always had a good community when we needed money, why they came forward. I really can’t say enough about the community as far as supporting us.”
One organization, which has come through in a big way, is Greenfield’s Freeman Lumber.
They recently donated $10,000 to the Queens County Food Back to be split evenly with the North Queens Food Bank in Caledonia.
Representatives from Freeman were unavailable for comment.
White says the donation will be particularly helpful to the North Queens Food Bank because they are not a member of Feed Nova Scotia.
“Feed Nova Scotia has 144 food banks with 15 on the waiting list, so you just can’t say I want to be a member.”
White says each Monday the Queens County Food Bank receives an order from Feed Nova Scotia.
“But, we never know what’s coming. It’s like Christmas every Monday. They send what they get.”
That’s when White and her team of 50 to 60 volunteers begin working the phones to find out how many families are placing an order, then package the orders for delivery.
“The volunteers, we give them each the name of the person and their address. They take them to the house and they set them on their doorstep so that there’s no contact with people.”
White says many schools and restaurants have passed food onto the food bank, which would have otherwise spoiled.
She says every donation is welcome but an item many people often overlook is toilet paper.
“And it’s not cheap. It’s not edible, but it’s a necessity, right?”
The Queens County Food Bank is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and anyone wishing to make a donation can do so by e-transfer or mail or they take the proper precautions and drop it off at 344 Main Street in Liverpool, next to Frenchy’s.
Reported by Ed Halverson
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson