On Saturday, the Morris Fire Department travelled through the community with sirens and flashing lights to call for food donations to the Red River Valley Food Bank (RRVFB).
Accompanying the emergency vehicles were members of the 3234 Manitoba Horse St Pierre Army Cadets. These young men and women were walking the route on the lookout for bags of food left on the doorsteps for collecting.
“The cadet program is the best kept secret in the Canadian military,” said their command officer Captain Phillip Atkinson. “Leadership, citizenship and physical fitness are part of our program. Community service is important to the corp. As these young people mature, they become the leaders of our communities.”
The Red River Valley Food Bank in Morris exists to aid people living with food insecurity in the Town of Morris, the RM of Morris, and the RM of Montcalm.
Clients, who are eligible to visit the food bank every two weeks, provide a request form identifying their needs. The form helps food bank volunteers put together hampers based on the number of adults and children that are in a household. Packers move through the aisles of the food bank office gathering selections from the 59 stocked items to pack a recyclable bag the client takes home with them.
On Saturday, the army cadets picked up donations at countless doorsteps throughout Morris, and then headed to the Emmanuel Baptist Church for sorting alongside food bank volunteers and other youth volunteers. Volunteers were also on site to make snacks available and serve up a hotdog lunch.
The collected bags were first weighed and recorded—the food bank reports the collected data to Winnipeg Harvest—and then opened and sorted.
“Working together to sort stuff was fun,” shared Erin Hamblin, a youth volunteer.
The sorted food items were then bagged for loading into vehicles that delivered them to the food bank distribution office on Boyne Avenue, where they filled the shelves and will help feed families in need for weeks to come.
“I would like to thank the people of Morris, Lowe Farm and Rosenort for their wonderful response,” said food bank director Pat Rempel. “Contributions from local business and churches, the army cadets helping each year, our volunteer efforts, and the people that donated food or gave a donation are what keep the shelves stocked at the food bank.”
Photo by Sean Conway/Voice
