This past weekend the Noah Strong Day Ball Hockey Tournament was held at the Bill Barber rink in Callander. The tournament raises funds for the NoahStrong Foundation, a charitable organization that raises money for various causes.
See: Strong support for second NoahStrong Day Ball Hockey Tournament
During the event, organizers donated a portion of the proceeds to help the Callander and District Foodbank at 78 Lansdowne Street, and the $1,000 donation was “very much appreciated” by those at the foodbank.
So explained Maureen Carriere, one of the founders of the foodbank. She noted that the summer months are usually a little lean for food banks. The high point for donations is around the holidays – “people were so generous over Christmas” – but the summer is when donations tend to dry up.
Which is why this donation was so appreciated, and timely. “Our shelves are down” these days, Carriere said, and “our grocery list every week is huge, so the donation is much appreciated.”
Food bank use is on the rise and has been rising for the past year or so. “I’d like to say we have less clients, but we’re gaining more each day. We added two more this morning,” Carrier said, when we spoke on Tuesday.
See: Lean times at Callander’s food bank
The food bank is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Those at the food bank are grateful for the donation because it increases the food stocks and keeps the doors open to the community.
Once harvest begins, the foodbank expects a significant increase in food because neighbours will drop off some cucumbers, radishes, or various home-grown garden delights. Every bit helps. Carriere told the story of a gentleman who goes apple picking down south every fall, and when he returns, he brings a couple of bushels for the food bank.
“Some food banks are having difficulty, but we’ve been blessed.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
