Newfoundland Power unveils $25K cheque for provincial food banks

Newfoundland Power presented a cheque for $25,000 to the Community Food Sharing Association outside the group's warehouse in St. John's on Monday.

For the past 23 years, workers for the utility company have collected money and food donations at the annual downtown St. John's Christmas parade.

This year, about 45 employees collected $10,000 and 15,000 pounds of food along the parade route.

Newfoundland Power added to that by donating $15,000 to benefit the association, and ultimately, food banks across the province.

"We would like to thank everybody along the parade route for their very generous donations this year. It certainly helps make a difference," said Gary Murray, the president and CEO of Newfoundland and Power.

He said it's heartwarming to be able to contribute to the Community Food Sharing Association.

"We just think that it's a very worthwhile cause," said Murray.

"We have a lot of people who come back, employees … and retirees as well, who come back year after year. It's something that's almost part of a Christmas tradition for them now."

Murray said Newfoundland Power also collected food at all of its offices across the province as another way to help those in need.

Wanda Hillier, the board chair of the Community Food Sharing Association, offered her thanks to the utility for its years of service and contributions to the organization.

"Without the support of sponsors like yourselves and employees that you have on your team, what we do wouldn't be possible," she said.

"It's a lifeline for the entire province."

'The demand is getting high'

Hillier said the demand at food banks across the province is on the rise.

"We're going into neighbourhoods and towns and places we've never gone before," she said.

"Thirty per cent of the people using the food bank network in Newfoundland and Labrador are children. That's a really bad number.… Ten per cent of our users are now seniors. That's tough to swallow too."

Hillier said she's also seeing those from the working class — people who are punching 40 hours a week from Monday to Friday — who are now turning to food banks for help.

"Usually, the working people, they'll cut something else, usually before they'll cut … food or, you know, they make it work. But they can't make it work anymore," she said.

According to Food Banks Canada, Hillier said demand is increasing across all demographics in the province and across the country.

"[It's] very scary," she said.

Hillier said the scope of the food banks vary. Some St. John's food banks serve between 3,000 to 5,000 families, while others serving smaller communities in Newfoundland and Labrador could help between 300 to 500 families.

She expects the Community Food Sharing Association to be busy right up until Dec. 21, as food banks try to access what they need in that last-minute rush before the holidays.

"So when we get a donation like this and we get a corporate sponsor come on board like this, you can't help but get goosebumps, because it means that, like, immediately, we can turn that into a family receiving a hamper," said Hillier. 

"No matter how we do it, whether it goes to Port aux Basques, it goes to Nain, it goes down the street … it just means that we have that ability and that's really why we exist. We exist to move food and these kind of donations help us do that."

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