The Rest of Fare Share

Every Wednesday from the end of April we've been bringing vegetables, herbs and flowers to our local food bank, Fare Share. We've seen some of their facility while we pulled the cart filled with our goodies to the weigh scale. But, we'd never seen it all. Today was the day to see the rest of Fare Share. It was Fare Share's Open House.

Fare Share's space used to be offices of a closed down army base. It looks like it. Built to last 100 years. Thick concrete walls and little rooms.

In the waiting area where neighbours line up for their bi-weekly visits, are these shelves with random drinks. We were met here by Meghan Flindall, executive director of Fare Share.

When neighbours sign in for their bi-weekly visit, they walk through the food area with a volunteer who helps them with their selections. Rather than being given a box of random food, at Fare Share neighbours can customize their choices according to family needs and likes.

The shelves were a little empty because neighbours had just finished their Saturday visits. Notice the signs: Small soup - 1/person. Canned Fish or Meat - 1/person.

Fare Share buys some food and some gets donated. Corn comes from a local market and bread comes from some generous local bakeries. The vegetables available are fairly basic: potatoes, onions, cucumbers and carrots.

One onion/family every two weeks.

I was interested in seeing the fridges and freezers. This one was donated by St. Mary's High School. I am always amazed at the generosity of our little towns. Even High School kids finding a way to support their hungry neighbours.

There is a set of shelves with kids' food - things to pack in a lunch bag.

Food also comes from two warehouses associated with food banks across Ontario. One is in Waterloo and the other is in Mississauga. You never know when they will get a bunch of skids of some random product that might not be selling well and is close to its 'best before date".

Other necessities like diapers are also available.

I am always struck by the orderliness of this food bank. There are many tiny former offices, each one housing a different mix of foods.

One big shipment coming from the warehouses recently was this room full of pre-cooked rice.

When food drives happen in our little towns, the boxes of random foods gathered end up in this room - the sorting room.

Below is a box that recently came in and is yet to be sorted.

I learned that there is a canning company that makes a specific line of pasta sauce just for food banks.

Aha! Another fridge. This time the size of my living room.

And, next to it a walk-in freezer, again the size of my living room. Meat is purchased by Fare Share and kept here before it is handed out.

As our tour circled back to where we started, we heard the grim facts of food insecurity in our county. Last year, over 3,600 unique individuals used our Fare Share food banks. 32,000 visits. The poster below gives a good overview of everything Fare Share does in a year.

I'm glad we got to see "the rest" of Fare Share today. It's truly a community-generated good thing in our little towns.

Neighbours helping neighbours.

“If we have no peace,

it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Mother Teresa