With a new set of wheels, the food bank will now be able to deliver more food than ever before to those in need.
Highland Valley Copper (HVC) and Murray GM recently donated funds to help purchase a 2014 Chevrolet Express van for the food bank.
Last Thursday, representatives from the food bank, Murray GM and HVC held a hunger awareness barbecue where visitors could see the new van, drop off donations and enjoy one of the 200 hotdogs served at the event.
The aim of the event was to increase awareness in Merritt about the impact hunger has on the community.
“We’re raising awareness and funds for the food bank,” food bank president and Murray GM general manager Richard Antonenko said. “It’s not just the needy, it’s also the working poor, and it’s very difficult now to raise a family on a single or even a double income.”
MSS construction class teacher Frazer Smith (second from left) welcomes Teck Highland Valley Copper Partnership employees Carl Minnabarriet (left), Sara Jubinville and Brad Van Esch, who dropped off coveralls, gloves and hardhats for the shop along with a treadmill for the special education department at MSS on behalf of the company.
Michael Potestio/Herald
The van was purchased through a collaborative effort for about $27,000 plus tax, with HVC donating the lion’s share with $23,600. Murray GM and local donations made up the difference.
Mario Costa, emergency health services commission manager at Highland Valley Copper, said the reason for the donation was to promote community engagement.
The van can carry up to 1,500 pounds of food, Antonenko said.
Food bank manager Marlene Fenton told the Herald that prior to acquiring the van, the food bank would have to leave behind about 30 per cent of a shipment offered to Merritt because they simply didn’t have the capacity to bring it back from Kamloops.
“It’s just a lot more carrying capacity and weather-proof, and so now when we’re offered things we know that we can respond to it and go and get it,” Fenton said.
For the next two years, Murray GM is covering the maintenance costs for the van, Fenton said.
Antonenko said the new vehicle brings long-term stability and reliability for volunteers.
“This vehicle is going to last another 15 years, and it just really lets them focus on what the core value of the food bank is, which is helping the needy, and not worrying about the mechanical side of it,” Antonenko said.
He said for most food banks, transportation can be a struggle, even in bigger markets.
The auto shop at Merritt Secondary School is benefiting from a donation from Highland Valley Copper as well.
The mining company donated about 100 pairs of used coveralls along with some hardhats and gloves to the MSS auto shop. The company has also donated a treadmill for use in the school’s special education department, Smith told the Herald.
