Food insecurity is a matter that many Canadians face today. In the Pembina Valley, there are a handful of local organizations that help address this barrier, and Morden Caring and Sharing is one of them. The organization has been providing the community with an essential service for three decades now.
Amy Friesen has been involved in the initiative for sixteen of these years.
Providing to families and students
“Morden Caring and Sharing is an emergency food hamper service, among other things,” she says. “We provide very generous food hampers for those in need. We [also] currently partner with the Western School Division for a referral lunch program. We are currently feeding approximately 25 students within the division.”
Because of the vulnerability involved in accessing services like Morden Caring and Sharing, Friesen says that the program prioritizes confidentiality.
“People can go into a school, liaison teacher, pastor, doctor, any upstanding member of the community and ask for a food hamper. They will go through an application form with them and then they will send it off to Caring and Sharing,” she says, adding that after that, the organization will reach out to the recipient and consult about dietary requirements to minimize waste.
“We coordinate with the volunteer who only gets the first name, phone number, address and number of people in the household,” says Friesen. “Then they pick up the groceries and deliver it to their door and that's it. Nobody speaks to anybody else about it — it is 100% confidential.”
Community-run
Morden Sharing and Caring, a faith-based organization, is 100% operated by volunteers and community support.
“We have no paid positions. We all give our time and resources, and it's incredible,” says Friesen. “Every time we find that we have a need, the Lord has always provided. The food has always been there when we've needed it, or the finances have shown up from generous community members and corporate donors who seem to know exactly when we need it.”
Traditional and non-traditional items
On Wednesday (October 2nd), youth will traverse Morden, Winkler, and Altona to collect non-perishable food items and monetary donations with Caring and Sharing for Farm Credit Canada’s Drive Away Hunger project. While all items help, Friesen has a wish list for the collection.
“The big ones would be things like cereal [and] peanut butter,” she says. “We're finding we have more and more [international] families with different food needs, so sometimes, they can't accept canned items.”
One non-traditional item that Caring and Sharing collects is soap, including hand soap, dish soap, and bars.
“It is really good helping people with hygiene because . . . we're feeding the kids and they're sending them to school, but the kids can't go clean [and] now, they're being bullied because they're not clean,” says Friesen. “To be able to send that bar of soap and to have the kid have that confidence is an amazing thing as well, so we do try to think of different areas. We have handed out toothbrushes or toothpaste [and] just your basic hygiene items that most of us take for granted every day."
Friesen says that granola bars and juice boxes are also gratefully accepted for children’s lunches and a snack program at the school aimed to keep children fed and comfortable during their lessons. Dried beans, pasta, and jams are also desired for the hampers.
“We will be sorting everything by date,” she says. “Just a reminder that when you are giving to someone, [please check] those expiration dates before you put the food in the bag. We will . . . make sure that we're only giving out good stuff, but we are so grateful for any and all donations that we receive.”
Just leave it on the step
On Wednesday, item pick-up will begin at 6:30 p.m. and go to 8:30 p.m. Collectors will go door-to-door in Altona, Winkler, and Morden.
“If, for some reason, you find that yours was not picked up or they didn't come to your door, please feel free to drop it off at any of the local churches in Morden or at the FCC office on the highway,” says Friesen. “They will gladly take it, and I will collect it from them. If you're not going to be home, feel free to leave it on the step . . . . Make sure you label it ‘Food Drive,’ or, ‘Caring and Sharing,’ or whatever you might like to write on there, and we will do our best to come get it.”
Monetary donations over $20 will receive a donation receipt.
According to Friesen, Caring and Sharing could not flourish as it has without local support.
“We are so grateful to the community because, without community members and the corporate donors, there's just no way that Caring and Sharing could have continued for thirty years,” she says. “I just want to say thank you, because without all of you, there's no way we'd be able to do what we do.”
For more information about FCC’s Drive Away Hunger program, click here.
~With files from Jayme Giesbrecht~