Cherryville Community Food & Resources Food Bank News Seniors Meal Program – A Great Success!!

Seniors Meal Program – A Great Success!!


October 17th, 2020 marked the pick-up day of our FIRST pre-made meals for seniors, and it rolled out absolutely wonderfully! Turkey Dinner was the meal available which came with turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, stuffing, a bun, and dessert. All individually prepared meals are $5.00 and we successfully packaged and sold 135! This day would NOT have been possible without an incredible, hardworking, and compassionate crew of people and I would like to personally thank the following:

Our Volunteer Cooks, Meal Preppers, and Packagers: Diana Verhage, Corrie Verhage, Manda Harrop, Karen St. Pierre, & Bev Melvin.

         

A special thank you to Greg Cretin, a professional meat carver who graciously volunteered his time to carve all 6 turkeys!

We thank Lynne Frerrichs and Angelia Harvey who coordinated meal orders, made calls, and supported the set up and launch of this meal program.

Also, a special thank you to Angelia Harvey who delivered meals to those who were unable to drive or wasn’t able to make it for pick-up.

Lastly, a very special thank you to Sharon Harvey and the Cherryville Community Food Bank Society who spent months planning and working together to see this vision come to fruition. With the positive feedback we have already received from seniors, families, and community members, this is clearly a need for our community and we are beyond excited to be able to offer this service. Most of the food was donated by the Cherryville Community Food Bank, some was donated by Dolman’s and without everyone who showed up to support us, this would not have been possible.

From the bottom of our hearts….Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

As a reminder, if you would like to specifically donate to this service, all funds go back into the meal program itself. Simply click the Donate Now page and make a special note at the bottom as to where you would like your donations to go (for example: $20 to purchase 4 meals for seniors; $50.00 towards food costs, etc.) and we will ensure your donation request is honored.

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Rural Community Deliveries – NakuspRural Community Deliveries – Nakusp

In 2016 we teamed up with Lake Country Food Bank and established the “Network of Sharing” in which we have connected nine different food banks that we can distribute food to when we receive large quantities of food. This reduces food waste entering our landfills, a national issue that has major environmental effects, as well as puts more food directly into the hands of community members, programs, activities, and events. Inspired by this partnership, we reached out to collaborate with Nakusp Food Bank who supports five rural communities between us. With safe transport of perishable items being the largest obstacle, we successfully sought and secured funding through Food Banks BC to purchase a refrigerated truck. We are now delivering fresh vegetables, fruits, breads, dairy products, and any other food/household goods we receive in excess that they are willing and able to accept. Extending this network of sharing concept into the Kootenay region has proven to be a positive impact for all communities involved as well as reducing the environmental impact of excessive waste entering our landfills. Our commitment to this social cause has resulted in this expansion of our food bank services, directly contributing to our mission of promoting healthy living and food security while reducing waste.

This program is funded by Interior Health through the Community Food Action Initiative grant.

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.