Sobering News

The Gazette ran an article a week ago about the challenge that food banks face in Canad in our present economic reality. "- Quebec — usage up 37.9 per cent, with seniors comprising 3.8 per cent of users and children 37.9 per cent". The article states that food bank use is up across the board 28%, and that one in ten is a first time user.

Our experience this year validates this article. At present we are feeding 120 families a week and in our new location, I expect we will reach 200 in the next 6 months. The need is huge. Our new facility will enable us to store more food. We will be capable of storing frozen and refrigerated foods as well as non-perishables. We are working hard to meet the challenge that we see in our community.

Christmas will soon be upon us. Renovations don't change that. We will once again be looking for people to adopt a family for Christmas. You can pick the size of family. We will provide the age and gender of the children, you do the rest. If you are interested please contact us.

If you would like to make a donation, that would be welcome as well. You can do so through Canada Helps, at the top of our web page.

Peace,

K

An Amazing Monday

After a holiday weekend, food bank can be slim pickings. Our food distributor is closed on holidays, so there are no deliveries. Today, was the worst I have ever seen it. I asked one of the managers if they had anything we could take by pallet. He said all the had was a "big" box of frozen vegetables. We said we would take a look at it.... The box was 4x4 and weighed 800 pounds! This was one box, with one bag in it. With so little food to distribute we had to take it and get creative as to how to package it.

On the way back from picking the food up, I got a call from my friend Stephane who works at The North Face. I almost didn't answer because I was processing how we would handle the days slim pickings. However, I decided to pull over and answer the call. Stephane had about nine massive containers of non-perishable food that The North Face had collected at there annual sale! When it was all done, a day that we thought we only had cold cuts, frozen veggies and bread, turned into an amazing grocery box, thanks to the "extras" that came out of nowhere. God is good.

We still have 6 containers of left overs for next week,.... sounds like a Sunday School story.

Thank you to The North Face, Challenger Transport and CTS.

Peace,

K

New Beginnings

It is happening! We have a new home. As of November 1st we will be in A Ma Baie. We will be situated behind the bowling alley on Gouin Blvd. After about 5 months of being homeless, we can't wait. It has been a challenge to say the least to run a food bank out of 3 or more locations.

This move means we are going to need more people to partner with us as we meet the needs of the people we serve. For the first time in years, we have to pay rent, which will be about $2500 a month, including commercial taxes. We are also in need of a walk in fridge and freezer.

More good news.... Challenger Transport is donating a 53ft. trailer to On Rock. This gives us all the storage space we will need.

We look forward to being in the position to increase our services to the people we serve, right in their neighborhood.

If you would like to partner with us in making a difference, please send me an email.

Peace,

K

It's Picking Up

The school year has begun. We have started to communicate with our schools regarding the Lunch Program. So far we have one school signed up for 25 lunches a week. They have asked if they can spread the word to other schools that don't know about our program. It seems that each year we pick up a new school or two.

Our facility issues seem to be coming to an end. We are presently negotiating a lease in A Ma Baie and it looks really good. We should have occupancy October or November 1st. The sooner the better.

It has been slow concerning our usual food suppliers, but that has not slowed us down. It seems that every time we hit a slow period, new companies or stores show up to help. This month a Grocery store in Cote St. Luc called up and gave us a van load of canned food and juice. A trucking company just gave us about 20 cases of cereal. God always provides.

We look forward to the new opportunities that will come from living among the people we serve.

Peace,

K

Crazy! Great!

First we will talk crazy,... On Sunday, I was picking up the Second Cup box at Fairview. I came outside and could smell burning.... I got in the truck to leave and the brakes were gone. I opened up the hood and noticed the burning smell was a little stronger. Now, remember, we lost our last Safari to a fire. I thought I would take a look underneath, and low and behold there was a fire. I immediately called 911 and stood way back, feeling a little sorry for the guy parked next to the van. The fire department was very quick in responding, and it turns out the fire burned itself out before they got there. I had the van towed to my mechanic,(Frank, at the ESSO on the corner of St. Charles and Hymus. Amazing dude.) $138 later, it turns out my brake line leaked on the exhaust and it was an easy fix. I have owned 4 Safaris/Astros,... two have caught fire.... that is crazy.

Now for Great. This week promised to be a hectic week at the Food Bank. Pete is on vacation and John(who drives the bus) couldn't make it. So, I had to drive the bus and we were using interim delivery guys to get the boxes to our families. It was a great day for food supplies. My son and 2 of his friends came to help me do the pick up, which was awesome. Loading the bus alone is a lot of work. Three 14 year old boys make it easy. When we arrived at Westview to unload and pack boxes, I was amazed at the amount of volunteers we had. Kathryn, Trish and Janet, two of whom are newbies, did our fruit and veggie triage. All three brought their kids who, along with the three I brought made short work of packing boxes along with our regular people. It is amazing how smoothly things run with positive, eager people. I was not looking forward to this Monday morning but it turned out to be a great day. Thanks to all those who came out to help, you helped make a difference.

Peace,

K

Thank You

A few weeks ago I posted that we were in serious need of staff on Mondays for the food bank. The response was amazing. For the past two weeks we have had several people come in and volunteer. My web designer, a friend from football and his son, to a friend and her two teens. It has been very encouraging to see people give of their time and energy, especially on really hot days. Thank you to those who volunteer.

We continue to be blessed with food supplies. We now have enough Veggie thin crackers to feed a small country. Vegetable supplies are awesome as well.

Thank you to all those who support this ministry financially. It is a great encouragement to see the generosity of people as they invest in this work we do to serve our community, especially those in need.

We are hoping to be situated in A Ma Baie by October. We are working on a rental agreement. It is not "in the bag" yet, but it looks good. More news as it unfolds.

Peace,

K

A Few Good Weeks

Monday at the Food Bank is always more fun when there is an abundance of food to give to our families. The last two weeks have been amazing. This week our boxes were filled to the point that the boxes wouldn't close. Summer is always good for fruits & vegetables for obvious reasons, but this week was over the top.

Summer creates other challenges though, like having enough staff to make it happen. Many of our volunteers are on vacation. If you have a Mondays open, we would gladly accept your help.

It is always good to get a phone call from one of our families saying that they no longer need our services because they got a job. We have had a few of these calls in the past few weeks. One in particular is a woman we have been serving for a few years. She has been working toward getting her qualifications to be an x-ray technician. This week she called saying she got a job in her field and can now take care of her family. It is encouraging when the system works. Now we can add another family from our waiting list.

Peace,

K