Indigenous actor Tina Keeper was Winnipeg Harvest's first employee

Before she became a household name, Tina Keeper was Winnipeg Harvest's first employee.

The food bank's executive director, David Northcott, hired his first employee when he made 23-year-old Keeper an administrative assistant in 1985.

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Keeper later went on to star in the CBC Television series North of 60 and serve as a Liberal member of Parliament for Churchill.

In 1985, Keeper set up Harvest's office and warehouse on St. Joseph Street in St. Boniface. She took calls from needy people on the food bank's only phone.

"We didn't have computers," said Keeper. The food bank used index cards to record the names and information of clients.

"I remember looking at the warehouse and thinking, 'We'll never be able to fill this,'" she said, "'and if we fill it, we'll never be able to keep it stocked.'"

Harvest distributed 50,000 pounds of food to 600 families between between July and December that year.

Learned to drive in a Harvest van

Keeper said she learned to drive in Winnipeg Harvest's one cargo van while picking up and delivering loads of cauliflower and potatoes.

The van had two seats with a lawn chair in the back for a third person to help with deliveries, she recalled.

"I remember the guy sitting in the lawn chair going flying and yelling at me to slow down," Keeper said with a laugh. "I didn't know to slow down around corners."

Keeper was struck by the need in Winnipeg at the time.

"What surprised me was that beyond the inner city, there was a much broader need that stretched across demographics," she said.

"I felt like I was part of this momentum, a stream of people that were dedicated, kind and generous."

Keeper's mother, Phyllis, was also an early volunteer and spiritual adviser to Winnipeg Harvest. Keeper said her mother's philosophy framed her experience at Harvest.

"One of her teachings was that there will always be poor," she said. "When you're privileged and have the ability to help, you should."

Keeper is now a film and television producer, but says she hopes to go back to Winnipeg Harvest in some capacity someday.

"It was a great learning experience for me."