By Barbara Rayner, Reporter
There was a steady stream of people stopping into the Masonic Hall Tuesday dropping off donations of money and food for the St. George and area food bank which was damaged in Sunday’s fire.
The food bank as well as Community Living were located on the lower level of Granite Court, which contains about 22 seniors’ apartments whose residents have been displaced by the weekend blaze and are now being housed in temporary locations.
The lower level of the Masonic Hall located at 2 Carleton Street is being used as a temporary home for the food bank and those wishing to drop off donations are asked to use the side entrance on Portage Street.
Food bank manager Jennifer Campbell said they have been overwhelmed by the amount of people and organizations who have made donations. She said they had received 4000 lbs of food within eight hours of the fire and, as of Tuesday morning, they had received $4,500 in cash donations.
Among the many donations received, Campbell said the Fundy Bay fire department brought in two truck loads of food which had been donated by residents in the area.
She teared up when she said they needed food which was due to be delivered to 15 families on Monday so they went to the Independent store to pick up some supplies and, when they went to pay for it, general manager Ryan Grant told it was all being donated.
“We lost everything. If it was not for his generosity we would not have been able to do our deliveries on Monday.”
The store has also donated $2,500 worth of gift cards to the food bank and is also holding a raffle in the store to raise funds for them.
While the shelves are gradually filling up, Campbell said they still need items such as canned meats, pasta, pasta sauce, Kraft dinner and cereal. Staff and volunteers will be at the Masonic Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accept donations.
For those who need to make arrangements to drop off donations, they can call 506-755-2603 and e-transfers can be made to sgareafoodbank@gmail.com
More information on fundraisers and donations can be found online.
