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Coquitlam Legion donates $25,000 to local food bank

With all of its events cancelled, Coquitlam Legion #263 put the money towards feeding the Tri-City's hungry at a time when many are struggling with the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stefan Labbé

The Coquitlam Legion has donated $25,000 to a local food bank at a time when the COVID-19 crisis puts many families at risk of going hungry.

The donation to the SHARE Food Bank was announced on its social media channels earlier this week.

"Legion 263 has always been there to help those in need in our community. In this time of uncertainty, despite the fact that we are closed, the Legion is still here and will continue to be here to support the residents of Coquitlam," wrote president Bob Chapman in a press release.

The money will go towards supporting roughly 1,900 Tri-City families supported by the food bank.

“Their donation of $25,000 to the SHARE Food Bank will help ensure that Tri-Cities community members continue to have access to fresh food and pantry staples during this crisis,” wrote SHARE CEO Claire MacLean in an email to The Tri-City News.

MacLean said she expects to see more people in the coming days as the economy struggles with business closures and people needing extra help to get by.

The food bank has been looking for several creative ways to source, pack and deliver food to hungry families. Recently several Coquitlam district schools have offered up their facilities to help put together food hampers. 

Each week as many 360 packages of potatoes, carrots, onions, fruits, granola bars, beans and other staples are packed up at the local high schools and delivered by staff to the Share food bank, which distribute them. 

“At a time when students no longer have access to school breakfast and lunch programs, and when so many in our community are struggling financially, the Food Bank is a critical support,” wrote MacLean.

Food packed for kids
Centennial secondary school culinary arts assistant Jeffrey Fagan, who has his Red Seal certificate, packages up food hampers for distribution to Tri-City food banks in a partnership between School District 43 and Share Family and Community Services to get fresh produce to families who need it during the COVID-19 pandemic. - Submitted

Donations have also been coming in from unexpected places. Last week a 16-year-old singer-songwriter raised over $17,000 in a virtual concert held in her Coquitlam cul-de-sac. And a group of Port Moody debaters moved their competition online in a fundraising effort that will offer participants a chance to wax on about the heroes of COVID-19 and pontificate about the world after quarantine.

Still the need is projected to balloon as people struggle with their personal finances. At the end of March, the B.C. government injected $3 million into Food Banks British Columbia through an emergency grant.

In the Tri-Cities, the SHARE Food Bank distributes food every Wednesday in Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Find out more here.