Mary Warnock was surprised when a young man showed up at the food bank with bags full of items he thought would bring people joy.
The Tay Township councillor, who is also the secretary of the food bank run out of St. Mary's Catholic Church by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, has been volunteering at the food bank with close to a dozen others.
"A young man by the name of Andrew Gawthroupe came by and said he just wanted to buy some items that would bring joy to people," said Warnock, adding he came back in an hour with bags of groceries filled with items he enjoyed.
"(There were) things he liked to snack on when he felt sad. He said he hoped it would bring joy to people who felt isolated. We were surprised that a young person would think of others at this time and was willing to spend his own money on others when money is tight right now."
But she said it's not just Gawthroupe that has been generous in this time; everyone in the community has stepped up to support the Victoria Harbour food bank, which is open from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Warnock said as a registered food bank their non-profit is eligible to receive funding from public institutions.
"The Simcoe County District School Board breakfast program is offering funding to local food banks," she said. "We don't know what we're going to get. They've been providing us with food they would generally provide for the program. There's possibly some money coming our way, too."
Karma Project lead Erin Chapelle has also been providing the food bank with fresh produce such as potatoes, apples, onions and carrots.
And while the food bank expected to see jump in numbers during this time, Warnock said it hasn't happened yet.
"We've got our usual clients coming on a regular basis, and even for some of those we wondered why they weren't coming in," Warnock said, adding the food bank serves up to 90 individuals and 40 children every month. "And then we found out, people thought we were closed."
She said another reason she thinks the demand hasn't gone up is because of available government funding.
"We may see those people coming in when the funding stops in the fall," said Warnock, who noted the food bank has the funds, is stocked up and ready to help new people too.
"We don't want them to feel awkward about accessing the service," Warnock said. "We're here and there's no judgment. You don't (even) have to qualify. We have more to give at this time and we're able to handle the extra clients that may come forward. It may just be an interim measure for you and you may never need to use the services once this is over, and that's fine."
Volunteers have also been taking extra care around hygeine and safety while dispensing boxes to clients during the pandemic.
"We have gloves and masks," she said. "We only allow one client in at a time and we wipe down between each client visit. We have pre-boxed (groceries) so there's no one waiting at the door and there's no contact with anybody."
For those who are unable to come in to the food bank because they don't have transporation or are in isolation, volunteers offer delivery.
During these times, she said the food bank is encouraging people to donate money rather than goods.
"We're trying to discourage people from dropping off stuff at the facility," Warnock noted. "If they can donate, we have a shopper that can go out and load up on what we're low on. We still have people coming in to drop off (money) by hand, but we're asking them to leave (it) at the door and we will go out once they've left."
At this time, Warnock said the non-profit is not asking for volunteers because the process for inducting them into the system (security checks, etc.) is temporarily suspended.
Those who wish to donate online can visit the food bank's Canada Helps page here. For more information, residents can call (705) 956-0022 to talk to a volunteer.
