This week we visited the Caledonia and District Food Bank as part of the Take Action program area. We met at the Church as usual and then walked to the Food Bank, where we were met by Dorette and Anne.
First we learned a bit about the services provided by the Food Bank and how it operates. They are open for service every Friday and people can access food, hygiene supplies, clothing, and find out about other community resources.
When a person arrives at the Food Bank, they take a form and a number. The form asks for some basic information (number of people in the family, male/female, ages of children) and then has a section where people can circle the items that they need. Another section at the bottom has other items that they can request. They put their number on the form, hand it in and wait to be called. While they are waiting, they can visit 'Linda's Closet'. Linda's Closet is a clothing closet that has all sorts of different items, including winter clothing and prom dresses. They also run a Backpack program in the fall so that children have the supplies they need to go back to school.
If there are school-age children in the family, each child receives a supply of snacks for school, which could include drinking boxes, yogurt, pudding cups, cheese strings, granola bars, apples, gold fish crackers, and/or individual hot chocolate packets. For infants, items such as formula, food, cereal and diapers are available. The Food Bank also runs a Christmas Hamper program where families receive a turkey, a food basket, fresh veggies (potatoes, carrots and onions), toiletries, hats and mitts, and a gift for each member of the family.
Some of the girls had brought donations, so we visited the scale and weighed our donations (25 pounds). Donation amounts are recorded along with the name of the group or individual donor.
During our visit, we were able to help out with two tasks.
One area has been set aside for breaking down larger packages into smaller amounts - such as flour, sugar, rice, powdered milk, and pet food. The girls worked on dividing up large bags of dog food into smaller bags. They had to scoop food, trying to get as little as possible on the ground, and fill the bags with approximately the same amount.
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The second task was to assemble toiletries bags for the Christmas Hampers. The girls used sheets with the ages and sexes of family members to make up packages for various families. When the sheet was given to the group, they had to record the family's number on the bag, then add items according to the age/sex of each family member. Each family received a bottle of shampoo, a bar of soap and a tube of toothpaste, then each person received a toothbrush and teens and adults received deodorant and razors.
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At the end of the visit, we thanked Dorette and Anne and walked back to the Church for pick-up.
