COMMUNITY

“As a store whose employees are by and large majority Paris residents, there was so much enthusiasm and dedication from each employee to ensure we were doing our part to support the community in its time of need,” she added

Catching wind of the shopping spree for the food bank, Sobeys Corporate kicked in another $1,600 to bring the final monetary value to $5,000 While it was a tremendous team effort to come up with the money, shop for deals and transport the food to the Food Bank, Jackee wanted to ensure Jonah received some well-deserved recognition for getting the ball rolling.

“I cannot emphasize enough how amazing it was for Jonah to step up and take it upon himself to build a fundraising idea to help the food bank and the Paris Community. This was an idea formulated quickly with an initial goal of $500 but Jonah’s passion, persistence and dedication pushed this far beyond what we initially set out to accomplish,” said Jackee. “Without his efforts none of this would be possible and I would like to thank him on behalf of myself and the Paris community for his commitment and dedication ”

So, what did this $5,000 contribution look like? Over 300 boxes of KD, over 200 frozen pizzas, more than 50 boxes of Cheerios, more than 200 sorts of juices, over 100L of milk, approximately 150 canned fruits, veggies and soup and about $600 worth of fresh assorted meats Not only was it a collaborative effort between Jackee, Jonah and the team at Sobeys but a special thank you goes out to Candice Tuck, David Tisdale, and Darian Banks for their help transporting the food to the food bank

It's extraordinary efforts like this one that ensure the food bank can continue to operate and meet the growing need within the community

The Salvation Army food bank serves 70 families in Paris per month and approximately 200-250 families per month in Brantford.

“The community’s response has been truly amazing,” said Will Ratelband on behalf of the Salvation Army. While he was initially reluctant to put the call out for assistance, something he’s never done in the 18 years he’s managed the food bank, but in the end so many businesses, organizations, service clubs and individuals rallied when it was needed the most. The outreach blew him away. He predicts this most recent push for help brought more than 10,000 pounds of food and he estimates approximately $10,000 in financial donations.

“It means everything when your community reaches out in the way that they did The response was vital and crucially necessary in order for us to meet the needs of the individuals and families coming in our doors. The key is for people not to forget that the need is constant,” added Ratelband, noting the most critical time for donations is always between Easter and September. It's not too late to help. The Kiwanis Club of Paris-Brant is hosting a food drive next Saturday, September 7th in the area of Austin Cres/Victor Blvd in St. George. They will be dropping off reusable shopping bags to approximately 250 homes on Sept 2, along with instructions, and will return on Sept. 7th to collect. You can also make donations to the food bank at both local grocers –Sobeys Paris and Jays No Frills Paris, as well as drop off donations at the Salvation Army at 25 Dundas Street Unit B in Paris.