Isabel Mosseler
Tribune
The West Nipissing Food Bank was running dangerously low in supplies this spring as demand for food assistance continues to rise, and once again the youth of West Nipissing rose to the challenge. Students from two local secondary schools, É.s.c Franco-Cité and É.s.p. Nipissing Ouest, along with supervising staff, assisted in an effort at two cooperating grocery stores, Metro and No Frills, on June 1st. The volunteers handed out flyers as people entered the store, helped to bag items at the check out, and offered to carry or cart purchases to vehicles. In return, shoppers in both stores displayed an amazing generosity to help restock the food bank shelves for local families desperately feeling the pinch.
Terri Clendenning, vice-chair of the WN Food Bank, sighed a breath of relief and gratitude at the success of the endeavour. Both locations had a large trailer on site to hold donations, as well as school pride displays to collect cash and thank donors. “We didn’t count the poundage of the food but, my God, the trailer was full,” beamed Clendenning. There were 50 boxes of food at the Metro trailer, and the one at No Frills was filled to capacity, with the proprietors at No Frills topping it off with twenty 15-kilo boxes of rice. “That’s not the only thing they donated. They donate so much stuff, and I mean people love rice, and we’re just going to give the bags as is.”
There were also cash donations as shoppers handed money to the helpful youth. “Between the two schools, they raised $1,388.15, at both Metro and No Frills,” said Clendenning. “And I’ll tell you, we had so many compliments on the students, at both stores, how efficient they were. People loved that they were bagging their groceries (…) They appreciated it and they said the students were all so polite and so enthusiastic.”
People were asking if this drive was to replace the October food drive, “Une canne ça dépanne”, and the answer is a resounding no. This spring food drive may well become another annual event to supplement a growing need. Clendenning approached local schools with the idea a few months ago as food stock was dwindling, and she was exceptionally pleased to get the buy-in. “Both schools are so excited, and they both want to do it again.”
Anik Carré, a guidance counsellor at É.s.p. Nipissing Ouest, was responsible for recruiting the youth stationed at the Metro store, and she said their enthusiasm was great to see. About a dozen of them gave up their Saturday to participate. “They’re collecting their volunteer hours at the same time,” she noted. “We made it a school event. (…) The kids came in prepared to spend a day. They’ve been here since 9 a.m.” Carré indicated at noon that they had hit the $500 mark for cash donations and the trailer was filling up. “I recruited my husband, it’s a family affair. My husband got the trailer out and my son has been the one (…) sorting the food (…) so when we go deliver, it’s going to be a lot less work for them.”
She pointed out her student volunteers. “They have been responsible to inform people, collecting money, helping people carry stuff. They’ve also helped people out just randomly with their groceries coming out. It’s really nice to see that.” Carré mentioned that development of character and social skills are the result of these type of endeavours. She advised the students up front that some people might be upset at being asked to donate, and they were just to say thank you and move on with a smile. However, these kids were met with a ton of smiles. They got pizza for lunch and enjoyed the camaraderie of being in collective service to their community.
At No Frills, Franco-Cité principal René Dubuc was also smiling from ear to ear. His school has been conducting the October food drive for upwards of 20 years, and when one of his teachers, Brigitte Pépin and her civics group ‘Jeunes en action’ helped out the Food Bank in April, they became aware of the impending food shortage. When they were approached by Terri Clendenning to get involved in a spring event, they didn’t hesitate. Dubuc also sees these community service projects as part of character development. “It’s a great opportunity to work with our community partners. We work with the Food Bank during our big push in October for Une canne ça dépanne, and this is just an extension of it. We know that times are tough right now, and we want to be able to give back to our community. It’s a big part of learning. Kids don’t learn everything in class. We have to be involved in our community,” said Dubuc. “Those are skills that are useful forever, being able to greet people, to smile, to help. And it’s that feeling it gives you to be part of a big project like this.”
