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Firefighters, volunteers work together for food drive

Firefighters and volunteers were out in force on Monday, Oct. 3 for the annual food drive for the Stettler and District Food Bank Society.
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A volunteer firefighter carries a crate of donated food to a volunteer's vehicle. Once the vehicle is full

Firefighters and volunteers were out in force on Monday, Oct. 3 for the annual food drive for the Stettler and District Food Bank Society, collecting crate after crate of non-perishable food items.

According to board member and volunteer Trish McColl, most people who come to the food bank looking for help never expected to be there, but their financial straits leave them in need.

“Sometimes life throws you a curveball,” McColl said. “People never think they’ll fall into a situation where they’ll need a food bank, but that’s why we’re here.”

The stigma that surrounds having to turn to the food bank for assistance has lessened in the past three years, as the uncertain oil industry situation has left many people, previously on stable financial footing, more understanding of how others can live pay cheque to pay cheque, Betty Birch, president of the food bank society, noted.

“You’re not alone in needing help,” Birch said of those who turn to the food bank. “Maybe we’ll just see you once, and never again. And we’d both be happy. But if you come back, that’s OK too.”

The annual food and fundraiser sees Stettler and Regional Fire and Rescue’s volunteer firefighters take the trucks up and down Stettler’s streets, while firefighters, members of the Stettler Wildcats, ATCO employees and other community volunteers gather food and donations and truck them back to the foodbank, which is located in the basement of the Stettler United Church.

“Outdated food, opened food like cereal and pasta, we can’t take those for health reasons,” Birch said. She said in the past, the food bank has received items that have been mouldy though she said she believed the donors of those items hadn’t realized the food had gone off.

“We can’t accept home canning or preserves, even though they look delicious,” she noted, adding that they also cannot accept eggs from local farmers or wild meats like venison. All food needs to be inspected by a food agency before they can be distributed by the food bank, which limits some of the options.

Birch said she didn’t want to discourage people from donating, as every donation is needed, but she didn’t want to see good food going to waste because of the rules by which the food bank is required to abide.

“Canned fruit is so expensive right now,” McColl said. “But that’s one of the items we really need.”

This year, financial donations were on par with previous years at roughly $3,500, but food donations were “moderately down,” Birch said. This decrease in donations continues the year-to-year decrease in donations the food bank has received since the onset of the economy slowdown, which unfortunately comes at a time where numbers have consistently increased.

“We had 15 new families in September alone, and each month has at least one new family,” Birch said. And while these new families may not come every month, the numbers are showing a consistent increase of patrons.

The food bank accepts donations at all times, with food donation bins located around the community, in the community’s grocery stores, and at the Stettler United Church. People who need help from the food bank can attend during its open hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 1-3 p.m., or Wednesdays between 7-8 p.m.

Birch especially wanted to thank the volunteers from the food drive night, including but not limited to Stettler’s volunteer firefighters, ATCO volunteers, kids from Heartland Youth Center, members of the church, the Stettler Wildcats and the many others who made the food drive possible.