Editor
On Dec. 21, we held St. Bart’s Food Bank, not knowing how many people would come in the bitter cold, four days before Christmas.
We prepared by holding the food bank inside; using our Sanctuary to serve hot chocolate and goodies.
A steady stream of people came; we gave out food, treats and necessities for 285 people (the highest number in 2022).
It was a privilege to serve people with such varying needs and stories; seniors on fixed incomes, people with serious medical issues, young families, people living in cramped, cold conditions, someone from outside Gibsons because rents are too high here. We serve everyone because we are a no barrier food bank.
Despite their challenges, our clients were cheerful, upbeat and generous – handing back any items from the hampers they didn’t need.
St. Bart’s is a small church, eagerly awaiting our new priest in 2023; we could not carry out this food ministry (including our hot lunch program) without the wonderful support of many volunteers from the Sunshine Coast community and the financial generosity of members of the community and local businesses, including (but not limited to): London Drugs which donates items every Monday, SuperValu which gives us the best prices and has a donation box for us; Mark’s Work Wearhouse who donated 50 pairs of warm socks and a generous discount on the rest, local schools which ran fundraising and food drives (thank you, Jamie Sadler for kissing a dead fish for us!), Gibsons Rotary, Gibsons BC Liquor Store for the much appreciated teddy bears, Tim Hortons for the hot chocolate, Gibsons Building Supplies and many more.
We feel truly blessed to be able to serve the community in this way.
Thank you, everyone.
Susan Kimm-Jones, St. Bart’s Food Bank
