ATTENTION


A message from the President of Cherryville Community Food Bank Society:

Well I am sad to say our little food bank is affected by Corona. We must stop our Thursday operations until further notice. If you need food please contact Barb and we will arrange pick up. 250-260-0562 or myself at 250-547-6646.

We are accepting donations and are following strict standards to keep our at risk population protected as best we can. Please wash your hands often. Stay away from crowds and if you feel sick-even a little-stay at home.

We will provide updates as they arise.

Please pass this message on to all residents in the Cherryville area so they are aware. Those that don’t or can’t use Facebook are at risk so tell your neighbors.

Thank you Cherryville for all the support,

Sharon Harvey

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Job Opportunities for Youth in Rural Areas by Haylee BennettJob Opportunities for Youth in Rural Areas by Haylee Bennett

Living in a rural area makes it difficult for youth to find work. There are not many job opportunities when living in Cherryville and other remote towns. Unless you have a reliable ride to and from town, where there are many job openings for younger people, then it is difficult to find work. With the lack of job availability in rural towns, youth are not able to gain work experience that is essential for their future. The Canada Summer Jobs Program helps create more job opportunities. They target work suitable for the youth population, and work to teach them about their rights as an employee. This has made a huge difference for the youth in our community, providing job openings suited for them.

This summer, myself (Haylee Benet) and Senay Thompson were employed with Cherryville Community Food & Resources. Having youth as part of the team brings new perspective and ideas to the organization. It is important for the next generation to gain proper work experience, and learn important skills needed to be in the workforce. Senay has been working with Renske in the community gardens since May. They have been cultivating the garden and have been able to supply an outstanding amount of produce for the food bank. Each week there is a large assortment of fresh produce to give out with hampers, cultivated by Senay and Renske.

In an interview I conducted with Senay, she expressed that she is very grateful for this job opportunity close to home. She feels she has gained important work experience for her future. Senay has learned how to apply for a job, and now feels confident for future job application processes. Communicating with her coworkers and boss has helped her build workplace communication skills she will continue to use throughout her life. Senay has had a wonderful summer maintaining the community gardens with Renske and is thankful for the experience in the workforce she has gained.

My name is Haylee Bennett, I just graduated and have had an amazing summer, learning workplace skills before heading into future careers. At Cherryville Community Food & Resources I have been helping with food hampers, social media, and the senior’s meal program. Every week I help Barb build and hand out food hampers, as well as keep the food bank clean and organized. I have also helped keep our social media up to date and have worked on various projects for our webpage throughout the summer. For the senior’s dinners, I help prepare and distribute the meals to seniors in our community. Towards the end of the summer, I started going to the Lake Country food bank to learn about food recovery. I have been going twice a week and have gotten to learn the processes involved in food recovery, which we hope to incorporate into our organization!

Overall, I have been able to gain a great deal of work experience with this job. I feel more confident in my communication skills, learning from involvement in the community and communicating with my coworkers and supervisors. Going through the job application process has prepared me for future careers and I now feel more confident than ever moving into the workforce. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with Cherryville Community Food and Resources this summer, and I am very thankful for all the important skills I was able to practice for my future!

 

Hi, my name is Haylee Bennett! I am 18 and just graduated from Charles Bloom Secondary School this year. In the future I would like to become an RMT (registered massage therapist). I am currently working to save money for the course and hope to start next year. I enjoy volunteering in the community in my free time. I have helped at the seniors dinners, food bank, and programs run through the elementary school since I was in grade 4.  I also enjoy baking and reading in my spare time, as well as going on hikes.

 

 

 

 

This position was funded by Canada Summer Jobs. If you are interested in employee or volunteer opportunities within our organization, please contact our office at 250-547-0089 for more information.

A Year In ReviewA Year In Review

2020…what a year! With the many challenges, worries, and hardships that transpired from this unprecedented time due to the global pandemic, so has opportunity for change, for growth, and support. In the face of so much uncertainty and adversity, our Cherryville community came together and supported one another in a powerful and meaningful way.

A Year in Review

Food Bank Hampers – with the stress of covid-19, there was an increase in families and individuals accessing monthly food hampers. We worked hard to ensure any Cherryville residents could access a monthly hamper throughout this difficult time. With ample donations, both food and cash, we were able to provide hampers to anyone that requested. Thank you to all of our donors and workers during this time but most importantly, thank you to those who felt comfortable to reach out and ask for help! We welcome anyone to contact us during times of hardship and please know we prioritize discretion, maintain confidentiality and adhere to a zero-tolerance policy for gossip.

Thursday Drop-In – open to all community members, regardless of need. Local residents can access food we have in excess (typically seasonal fruits and vegetables) that we need to disperse as soon as possible to avoid waste, so please come!

Organic Community Garden – we hire a local summer student to work at our community garden which yields fresh organic produce that support our community in a variety of ways. This is an incredible opportunity for our local youth to obtain employment, develop skills and abilities, work on a team of dedicated and caring staff and volunteers, and give back to their community. Summer youth are provided with WHMIS training, Food Safety Certification, and supported throughout their employment at the Cherryville Food Bank.

Rural Communities Delivery Program – we provide excess food to Nakusp Food Bank who supports the smaller rural communities between Cherryville and Nakusp. With our refrigerated truck, we can safely transport perishable and non-perishable food to also support our mission of increasing food security while reducing waste.

Seniors Outreach Services – In May 2020 we launched an outreach program to reach out to our senior residents who like all of us, were feeling the effects of social distancing, isolation, and loneliness. With the risks and uncertainty of a potentially deadly virus, many of the older adults were living in fear and craving social interaction. Starting off with check-in calls, socially distanced visits, and some delivery services, we reached out to as many senior residents possible. We have made 256 phone check-ins, 70 socially distanced visits, and over 30 deliveries so far! This has been an incredibly positive experience and will continue to shape our service delivery in the new year.

Pre-Made Meal Program for Seniors – as an extension to the seniors outreach services, we launched a pre-made meals program for seniors which has been a smashing success. To date, we have prepared and sold 442 meals! We look forward to resuming this meal program in the new year with the support of our incredible team of staff and volunteers. We cannot thank them enough!

As 2021 approaches, we are focused on furthering our reach to Cherryville residents and surrounding area with the intention of growing our building into a hub for community resources to connect residents with the supports they require. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is the power of community to support and rely on one another through hard times. Cherryville is an incredibly generous, giving, and resilient community and we look forward to giving back to our residents in any way possible throughout 2021.  

Employment Opportunity – now filledEmployment Opportunity – now filled

THIS POSITION HAS NOW BEEN FILLED – thank you to all who applied.

Job Title: Pre-made Senior Meals Cook and Food Bank Helper

Community: Cherryville

Status: 12-week position, April 15th – December 18th 2021

Position Summary

The Cherryville Community Food Bank is hiring a temporary casual worker to join our team in Cherryville for the year of 2021. We have an incredible team of local staff and volunteers who work together to provide various resources and services to the community. We are constantly growing our vision and working collaboratively to bridge services and resources to our community.

We are looking for someone to join our team and take on the role and responsibilities for cooking our monthly senior meals for the remainder of 2021. There is potential for hours to continue into 2022. In addition, there will be three weeks dedicated to helping at the food bank including the construction of our Christmas Hampers and processing food harvested from our Community Garden in September.

**This is a work opportunity for anyone that is qualified to receive B.C. income or disability assistance – it is meant to provide short-term relief for individuals effected by COVID-19 and increase their ability to participate in the labor market. Note: you do not have to be actively in receipt of income or disability assistance payments from the Ministry or Government of Canada to be eligible for this position.

Meal Cook Responsibilities:

  • Working with staff to determine meals that will be cooked each month
  • Picking up adequate supply of food to construct 100-125 pre-made meals
  • Taking the lead on cooking meals, includes delegating tasks to volunteers who help prepare, cook, and construct pre-made meal containers
  • Must adhere to food safety requirements

Training, Experience, and Skills:

  • Must have current Food Safe – if you do not have this, there is opportunity to get it free through the Food Bank
  • Experience in cooking, particularly with large quantities of food
  • Effective time management skills is necessary
  • Willing to work collaboratively with a team of staff and volunteers

Wages: stipend of $300 per meal completed (9 meals); 3 weeks helping at food bank ($300 per week) for total of 12 weeks of work.

The Cherryville Community Food Bank Society takes COVID-19 safety protocols very seriously and the person employed in this position will be expected to comply with our policy and procedures to reduce risk of spreading the virus and maintain safety.

If you are interested in applying for this position, contact Sharon Harvey at 250-550-6646. Please have a current resume available, there will be an interview scheduled for all candidates who meet requirements.