St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church in Gibsons has been helping to support people in our community who are finding it difficult to feed themselves and their families in these challenging financial times.

For more than two years, St. Bart’s has operated a Helping Hand dinner on the second Saturday and a Food Bank on the third Wednesday of each month.

“The dinners would be more difficult to host were it not for the support from day one from Tim Thompson, the owner of SuperValu,” said co-ordinator Margaret Rowe. “As soon as Tim heard our plans, he offered his staff’s help to roast the meat and vegetables each month. Our guests are so appreciative of a hot, nutritious meal in a welcoming environment and almost every month they have also enjoyed the music provided by the Inspirations.” Rowe’s hope is that another church or organization might be able to offer a similar dinner on a different day of each month.

The latest initiative at SuperValu is a fundraising coffee bar. Each month the donations for every cup of coffee will go to support a local community endeavour and Thompson chose St. Bart’s Helping Hand dinners to be the recipients from the first month in operation.

St. Bart’s dinner program and the St. Bart’s Food Bank could not continue to operate without the support of the many individuals and businesses in this community who volunteer their time and open their wallets to keep us going. People interested in helping in any way should telephone St. Bart’s office at 604-886-7410.

— Submitted