Foodshare Conference

I had the privelege to attend a conference last Thursday and Friday about Food Rescue / Recovery or as it's called in Kamloops, Foodshare. It's a brilliant concept, that is a win-win and overwhelming benefit for all partners involved. In a nutshell, excess food is collected from local restaurants, grocery stores, and from individuals (farmers and growers) by the Kamloops Foodbank and then it is distributed to Food Share partners each and every day (minus Christmas). Over 4 million nutrious servings of food was collected from Jan - Nov 2006! Food that would have been tossed out and end up in the landfill. Food Share partners include social agencies that feed the homeless, schools (breakfast and afterschool meal programs) and churches. If all goes according to plans, perhaps Vernon will be the next community to adopt the Foodshare model. Here's a cool story that the E.D. of the Kamloops Food Bank 'shared' with us, and I thought i'd share it with you all!

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Homeless lottery winner pays it forward by Lori Jenks
Article printed in Newsbreak on Saturday, April 01, 2006

FOOD BANK volunteer Kelsey Kashuluba looks on as Marg Spina and Julie Bennett prepare fresh produce for the hungry
“Angels come in all shapes and sizes,” said Marg Spina, director of the Kamloops Food Bank.
The angel in this case was a 34-year-old, homeless ex-con who gave the food bank $1,000 after he won $10,000 on a scratch-and-win lottery ticket before paying off his debts.
“I always said that, if I ever won anything, I was going to donate 10 per cent to the food bank,” said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous.

The man won the money in February and it was gone within a month. “I just went around and paid off all of my debts and now I’m free,” he said. “I figured the money was a gift from God and wasn’t for me to keep. What do I need money for anyway? I’m living on the street carrying around 3,000 bucks in my pocket. That’d be pretty stupid. I didn’t want it, so I got rid of it.”
He wants to remain anonymous because he said his friends would give him a hard time for giving the money away. Also, it would be dangerous for him living on the street if people thought he was carrying around a large amount of money. “No one needs to know who I am anyway,” he said. “I just wanted to help the kids. If you went there and saw people trying to feed their kids, you’d have done it too. You know that, if you need food stamps to survive, you don’t have anything.”

Spina’s eyes welled up with tears when she talked about the man who has been a food bank regular for five years. “This is by far the most powerful thing that’s happened in the year I’ve worked here. It’s one of those things that happen that really strengthens your resolve to want to help. “Whatever you choose to do in your life leaves a footprint and I think about that idea when I think of him,” said Spina. “What he did has affected so many people and will continue to affect so many more. That’s what the food bank is all about: paying it forward.
“The most important thing to remember,” said Spina, “is that he made sure he came here first to give us the money because he knew he wasn’t going to hang on to it. I think it really goes to show the real essence of who he is. Whatever has happened to him in his life, he has such a strong desire to want to protect children.”

The man grew up in Alberta and moved to Kamloops five years ago after getting out of prison. “I came to Kamloops 15 years ago and thought I’d like to live here,” he said. “It’s a good place to live outside. It’s warmer than Alberta.” He’s been in and out of prison since he was 18.
He said he’s hoping to be pardoned this month and looks forward to being able to work.In Canada, a person is eligible for a pardon three to five years after serving a sentence.
Winning the money seems to have given the homeless man a new outlook on life. He spends much of his time at the Indian Friendship Society and is learning social skills he didn’t learn in prison.
“When I got out of prison I didn’t know how to relate to people,” he said. “All they do is warehouse people there. They don’t teach you any of the skills you need to survive in the world.”