In an attempt to Feed the Need, the Chestermere Regional Food Bank held a community food drive at No Frills grocery store in Rainbow Falls.
Volunteers hoped to fill 40 grocery carts full of food with the hope of collecting enough non-perishable goods to fill the food bank until September.
According to Mardo Oel, President of the Chestermere Food Bank, there are very few donations that come in during the summer months while schools are out. “The schools each hold multiple food drives throughout the school year and that is really what keeps us going,” states Oel.
Concluding the event, a post on the Chestermere Food Bank’s facebook page stated that although they didn’t hit the goal of filling 40 shopping carts, they did managed to completely stuff 23 shopping carts full of good quality items.
“We had the privilege of working with 25 amazing volunteers and we got to meet some of the remarkable people that live in Chestermere,” the facebook post stated.
Leela Aheer was one of the two dozen volunteers that came out to help at the event because she understands how important the food bank is to so many people. “Everybody gets down on their luck at one point or another and it gives you a safe place to be and a community that puts their arms around you to say that it’s going to be okay until the next time and hopefully you engage people to help other people along the way as well,” said Aheer.
Oel says that they are currently collecting cash donations in hopes of purchasing a commercial fridge this summer. “We have enough room in the new location for a fridge which will allow us to offer clients more items like milk and produce.”
“The new location is fabulous, the clients love it because it is so much more convenient,” adds Oel.
The Chestermere Regional Food Bank serves on average 4 clients per week, approximately 30 % of which are children. For more information, please visit the website at www.chestermerefoodbank.com
