It’s the second year St. Albert Rotary Club has organized the local initiative St. Albert Fights Hunger. It was deemed a success and organizers hope to host a similar event soon.
“Eight years ago we organized the first event and it was quite an undertaking. Part of the gap was due to the effect COVID had on things. It put it under the radar. But our president (Darija Slokar) this year was adamant she wanted to see greater community involvement,” said Andre Charrois, event chair.
About 180 volunteers gathered at St. Albert’s Salvation Army gymnasium on April 26 packaging 70,000 meals. Two shifts were planned, with one from 9 a.m. to noon and the second from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. About 15 tables were prepared with eight volunteers per table.
“It was a little bit of a party. Everyone was enjoying themselves. During the morning shift there was lots of dancing and singing. There were volunteers of all ages. Some tables even brought children. It was an awesome day. Everyone was great,” Andre Charrois.
Volunteers packed meals in an assembly line, filling bags with red lentils, rice, dried vegetables, and vitamins. One volunteer poured a cup of red lentils. The next added a cup of rice followed by dried vegetables and vitamins. Yet another volunteer sealed the plastic bags and placed them in a box ready for delivery.
Charrois said 10,000 bags were given to the St. Albert Food Bank while the balance went to Belize or the Dominican Republic. The shelf-life of these packets extends until April 26, 2028.
Local businesses helped subsidize this project by paying $1,000 per table. Several table sponsors included St. Albert Rotary, D. W. Good Investments, NFP, KDM Helping Hand, MNP, Capital Vision Care, Keldar Leadership, NICE Agents and the City of St. Albert.
Deryk Kirchner, international director at Hope Mission, assisted the Rotary Club in organizing the event. Hope Mission has partnered with other provincial organizations to host similar events such as Sherwood Park Against Hunger and Wetaskiwin Fights Hunger and will handle the overseas operations.
Charrois closed by saying, “When you start a project like this, you’re always a little worried. It’s nice to see it all went well and the food is off to where it’s needed both locally and throughout the world. St. Albert is a great community that gets things done.”
