The Rock Creek Health Centre was filled to capacity on Jan. 30, as members of the Food and Resources Society came together to listen to an update of the society’s current status and its plans for 2016.
President Leda Fair called on Foodshare Exchange director Vivien Browne to provide an overview of the society’s last meeting in December. Browne reported that the FAR Society currently holds a bank balance of a little more than $1100, with the Foodshare account sitting at around $2,000.
Browne detailed a number of the various sources of food that stocks the Foodshare program, as well as highlighting the donations of much-needed equipment such as refrigerators and freezers. She also praised the likes of Leona Pringle for the donation of the space previously occupied by Pringle’s Fruit Stand on Highway 3 in Rock Creek and society director Cathy Straume, who makes weekly excursions to the Kelowna Food Bank, regardless of weather conditions, to help keep the group’s freezers full.
According to Browne, donations have been steadily pouring in from both organizations and individuals, and numerous people are dedicating hundreds of hours monthly to ensure that the Foodshare coffers are well-stocked.
Through these displays of generosity and compassion, numerous residents who would otherwise be hungry can get a helping hand when the need arises, a need that has certainly become even more evident since the Rock Creek fire.
The FAR Society membership currently sits at around 100, not an unhealthy number, yet certainly one which Fair would like to see increase substantially during 2016. “Our membership is what drives our efforts,” said Fair, “especially when it comes to our garden.”
Fair reiterated during the meeting that any helping hand at the society’s plot at the Midway Community Garden is welcome, noting that the group meets three times per week from 10am to 1 p.m. Non-members, of course, are welcome too