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YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER - LANARK, NORTH LEEDS & GRENVILLE
JANUARY 2024
Final Build a Mountain of Food totals eclipse last year’s numbers smiths falls community food bank sees record number of clients
REGIONAL - Laurie Weir editorial@pdgmedia.ca Driving away hunger is what the RCL Automotive Build a Mountain of Food strives to do in the 11 communities it serves during the six-week food campaign which wrapped up in mid-December. Chris Craig, owner of RCL Automotive in Smiths Falls, has been the title sponsor for four years. He said he’s always astounded to see the final numbers come in – especially after the slow starts the drive has had over the years. “The need is greater this year, by far,” he said on Jan. 8 as the final numbers were tabulated for the 2023 campaign. “There were so many concerns with the price of food escalating this year, and the greater need.” Jim Wright said they always hope the donations will come, but they never know the final numbers until the end of December. “We are up food, and we are up cash, which is a miracle,” Wright said. The campaign collected $354,231.34 in cash dona-
tions this year – that’s up $68,259.32 over last year. The event hit the two-million pounds of food mark this year, collecting 193,973 pounds, or 1,116 pounds more than last year for an overall total of 2,313,888 pounds of food. The campaign hit the $2M cash mark last year. Following this year’s count, the campaign has reached an impressive $2,042,669.79 over 17 years. Wright and Craig agree that this has been a welloiled machine over the past 17 years, which got its humble beginnings in Perth. “We’re just standing on the shoulders of giants,” Wright said, when referencing those who kickstarted the food drive — Hugh Colton, Ed Chouinard, and Ed Roberts. “It’s really hard to name everyone because there are so many who make this work,” Wright said. “From the grocery store owners to the food bank managers, the hundreds of volunteers, and those who donate … there are so many people to thank.” The Smiths Falls and District Community Food
Bank is one of the stops on this campaign trail. Natalia Soteroff is the executive director. “It is very essential to us,” she said of the BAM food drive, as the deliveries of food and cash usually stretch out to April. This year, they will be lucky to see the end of January – their busiest time of the year. “Last year, by February we were already running out of essentials. Right now, I’m on Jan. 8 and I’ll be making an order this week.” Soteroff said their “families have exploded” over the past year. Where they would see smaller families — singles, couples, seniors — they’re now seeing five to 11 people per household. The food bank has a client list of between 800 to 1,100 per month. She said they’ll probably break 1,200 for January. “Yes, there are a lot more clients, but there are bigger families now and that depletes us faster now,” she said. The SFDFB spends between $5,000 to $30,000 per month. “If there is a big sale, we stock up. The aver-
Chris Craig, owner of RCL Automotive in Smiths Falls, is the lead sponsor for the Build a Mountain of Food Campaign. He’s pictured with Jim Wright on Jan. 8 as the final numbers for the 2023 campaign are tallied. Photo credit: Laurie Weir.
age really varies,” she said. For the last fiscal year – Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 — Soteroff said they spent $188,000 on food alone. She credits the BAM campaign for donations of nearly $150,000 this year (she counts all donations from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 as part of the BAM total) as well as other donations throughout
the year as critical to keeping the doors open. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is really good to us with a $10,000 donation last year, and $20,000 this year,” she said. “December is a huge month for us.” As for a wish list, Soteroff said she’d take anything and everything
(non-perishable), but some of the items on her wish list include school snacks (granola bars, juice boxes, pudding), diapers and baby wipes. “People are so good to us,” she said. “Times are tough right now, but donations are still good. BAM continues to be absolutely incredible.”
Rural FASD Support Network reaches goal far bigger than financial target 2024 perth polar bear plunge hits $30,000 for this year’s recipient
Dave Lavery welcomes participants and spectators to the 2024 Perth Polar Bear Plunge on Jan. 1. More than 100 plungers took the leap into the Little Tay to support Rural FASD Support Network as $30,000 was raised during the 30th anniversary plunge. Photo credit: Laurie Weir.
REGIONAL - Laurie Weir editorial@pdgmedia.ca The Perth Polar Bear Plunge was a huge success for the Rural FASD Support Network in more ways than one. Some $30,000 was raised by 144 participants, but for Rob More, the board chair of Rural FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) Support Network, it was
about having conversations that really hit home. More said he was “exhausted, but over the moon” with the community support as they were expected to reach their $30,000 goal. “We are so happy with how this all came about. Yes, the money is wonderful, but it was not the primary objective here. There were 46 of us out of the group in
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attendance, with different roles and responsibilities.” More said it was about making those community connections over the past year while promoting their organization as the recipient of the Perth Polar Bear Plunge. “To be able to walk away and see all that community support, where Lanark County is saying, ‘We want to help you. We believe in you. We appreciate you and where you’re coming from.’ That is hope! It is a much more powerful thing for people to recognize the Rural FASD name and know who we are and what we represent.” It’s huge, he said. “People really and truly care and want to help. We just need to continue putting ourselves out there and be willing to be brave and share our stories.” Plungers enjoyed a breakfast inside the PerthUpon-Tay Royal Canadian
Legion, branch 244, before braving the plunge. Rural FASD Support Network became the recipient on Jan. 1, 2023. That’s when More and his team started promoting the event by attending events, fairs and parades in Lanark, Leeds and Grenville counties. Funds from the plunge are earmarked to continue to build human resources in the organization, More said. “This is going to be used to continue to maintain the capacity we have right now within our organization,” More said of this year’s plunge funds. This will support the program coordinator, and a youth-coordinator/marketing person. They also rent space at the Open Doors complex, located at 88 Cornelia St., W., Unit A1. Rural FASD Support Network helped 268 families and as many as 600 individuals in 2023. The polar plunge started
some great discussions this year, More noted, as they engaged in 8,500 direct conversations by attending 22 events and festivals over the past year to promote their organization and the plunge. A study published by Canada FASD Research Network called “Towards Healthy Outcomes” identifies 12 sectors that need support for people with FASD to have a positive life outcome. “Those things include having a doctor, being able to go to school, to have supportive family structure, employment support, and so on,” More explained. “When someone contacts the office, we help to identify what the individual has and what they are lacking.” Once that is identified, Rural FASD Support Network will provide the system navigation piece, More said. “A lot of times, there is another organization that can provide that piece
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that is missing.” More said family cohesion is a foundational piece of the puzzle. “You can help the child, but if their parents are falling apart, they’re not accomplishing anything,” he said. “It’s an entire family approach and recognizing siblings are impacted just as much as anyone within that family unit – and that looks different for each person and what their role is.” Provincial funding is only available, right now, for youth under the age of 18, More noted. But FASD is not something you outgrow. “There is no adult support right now in the province,” he said, but the conversations they are having at the provincial level “are extremely good.” For more information on Rural FASD Support Network, visit ruralfasd.ca and for more on this story and another on the Perth Polar Bear Plunge please visit hometownnews.ca. @HometownNewsLC