You’re not likely to notice it by just driving by – unless maybe Karen Lehman’s navy car is parked in the gravel parking lot out side – but the Greenwood Food Bank’s pantry-sized operation in the Southern Interior Auctions building is certainly making an impact on those who need it most.
When Lehman says that “We want to meet people’s needs,” whatever they may be, she’s talking about the growth in demand that the Greenwood Food Bank has seen in her six years there as a volunteer. When she started, Lehman says, there were just over a handful of individuals and families that would frequent the building’s old pastor’s office. Now, Lehman says that it’s usual to see upwards of 30 visitors on the first and third Thursdays of every month. (Under COVID-19, clients have to pick a time on Thursdays to get their items, given that it’s near impossible to maintain two metres of separation between even just two people in the food bank’s location).
Luckily (so far), they’ve been able to keep up with demand, Lehman says. Once a week a driver heads to Kelowna to pick up bread and other goodies, while local grocery stores pass on their dented cans or broken dog food bags for Lehman and her handful of teammates to pass on to others. Growers from Osoyoos to Grand Forks also help bolster the food bank’s supply of fresh food.
In years past, the food bank has reaped the benefits of the Midway Community Garden too. One client in particular, Lehman says, has appreciated the spicy peppers grown in the neighbouring town.
Lehman, just like other food bank volunteers in the region, was expecting a surge after COVID-19 forced businesses to close, reduce hours or lay off staff. But, for the moment it seems that some may have caught a break elsewhere. Lehman suspects that emergency government funding such as the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) are allowing some people who might usually drop in to pick up what they need – tomato sauce, perhaps some Alphabet soup and some canned tuna or even toothpaste – to get to pick what they want to eat from store shelves for the moment instead.
That’s not to say that there’s not ever variety available from the Greenwood Food Bank either, though. In the summertime, volunteers go out and glean food from trees at orchards with fruit to spare, or from people’s back yards. The operation reduces animal attractants and offers fresh and healthy options to Greenwood Food Bank clients too.
“There’s an awful lot of people who, for whatever reason, they need a break,” she says.
When Lehman joined, she did so because she just thought it was a good thing to do. “I didn’t think I’d end up loving them all,” she laughed, “but they’re like family to me.”
Like the boy on his bike who, having seen Lehman’s car parked outside on a Friday, stopped in to say hello and left with a box of yellow marshmallow Easter candies, or like the man whom she once startled by offering up a fresh habanero pepper, when he expected a milder variety.
The broader community, Lehman says, has also rallied during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the small food bank with extra donations of cash, cheques and veggies. Anyone looking to donate, as well as anyone wanting to set up an appointment to pick up food on a Thursday, is invited to call Lehman at 250-449-2279.
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