In the midst of a destructive fire that destroyed the St. George & Area Food Bank and its inventory, there is hope.
On Saturday, Hillary’s Hope for Hunger held a food drive inside the St. George Mesonic Hall on 2 Carleton Street. It is the temporary location of the food bank until it can find a more permanent space.
The organization was founded by Hillary Hooper’s mother, Patty Borthwick, following her death at the Saint John Regional Hospital in 2020.
A fire on Jan. 3 at Granite Court on Main Street in St. George displaced more than 20 people from the seniors apartment complex, the food bank, Community Living, and Dr. Brown and Associates.
In St. George, the food bank serves about 400 clients every month.
“As you know, for five years, we’ve had [the] Hillary’s Hope for Hunger food drive. So it’s well established, and it’s well known in the community,” said Borthwick, speaking to The Courier. “It was an easy springboard to come and try to help, and try to get this the shelf stocked back up.”
Borthwick said in the immediate aftermath of the fire, the food bank needed to get on its feet quickly, because clients were coming in less than 24-hours.
“They burnt Sunday, and we were opening up, and running here on Monday, and they had clients served on Monday,” she said.
In the first few days, the community raised $4,500 and about 4,000 pounds of food. On average, the food back distributes about 40,000 pounds per month. On Saturday, the door was open on the lower level of the Mesonic Hall, and people were pouring in.
“I keep repeating it, but food insecurity leads to a decline in good mental health, because you need to eat,” she said.
As of 2023, about 17 per cent of New Brunswick seniors were considered food insecure, and 31 per cent of adults are food insecure. Since that time, housing and rental costs continue to rise and so does the cost of living.
Volunteers from Eastern Charlotte were on hand to help, both at the Mesonic Hall, but also at the Independent grocery store, collecting donations. The very firefighters who fought the blaze also showed up with physical and financial support.
The Eastern Charlotte Fire Club donated $7,500 to the food bank and another $3,750 to Community Living–an organization that assist those with intellectual and physical disabilities gain access to employment–and who also lost their space as a result of the fire.
Stephen Barry, with the ECFC, said the food bank gives so much to community, and this was an opportunity to give back.
“They all work together for events like this today. So, we’re very fortunate to have people like this in our community. He’s a true volunteer, and we love him,” Eastern Charlotte Mayor John Craig said of Barry.
Craig said it has been amazing to see the community step up, but also people in other communities reaching out and donating. Fundy Shores Mayor Denny Cogswell dropped off a check for the food bank, as well.
“It is not an easy time of the year for people to give because we just came through Christmas,” Craig said. “The grocery bills aren’t getting any cheaper because of the economic upheaval in the world right now, and that’s not helping, but this community [is] really showing that they care and [that] they really want to help.”
Craig said his phone has not stopped ringing since the fire, with individuals and companies, like Cooke Aquaculture reaching out to see how they can help. Charlotte FM, owned by Acadia Broadcasting, also hosted a live show during the food drive.
“It makes me feel proud to be one of the leaders the community,” Craig said.
And as volunteers work to sort donations, the shelves quickly filling up, Hillary’s memory breathes life back into a community needing a collective hug.
“She would be happy because it was near and dear to her heart,” Borthwick said.
