It was a perfect day for a barbecue in Humboldt on Thursday.
After being forced indoors last year, the Olymel Giving Back Together was rewarded with a great day to spend lunch outdoors and enjoy a pork souvlaki burger outside of the Olymel office near Highway 5 east.
VP of Production and Procurement for Western Canada for Olymel Casey Smit was pleased with the event during the lunch hour.
“We've got a great crowd supporting us again this year, we're very, very happy with the turnout so far.”
The proceeds of Thursday’s barbecue were donated to the Humboldt and District Food Bank. Smit says giving back is an important initiative for Olymel.
“So far, even up before today, we raised $270,000 over the last nine years. This should put us over $300,000 and so we're pretty excited that we're able to do this again.”
Making sure the event goes off without a hitch, Smit pointed out the extra work the staff put into the event.
“We have about 35 volunteers supporting us today as well to get all this done.”
The barbecue was the first part of Olymel’s busy day of giving back, as 16 farm families from the area were treated to a nice reward for their harvesting efforts.
“We've got farms, local, a lot of local farmers that we provide the meal for and some farms that are further out this year than we've ever had before. So, all of our staff then will go out and deliver those meals to the farmers.”
Smit appreciated the help that went into all Thursday’s events.
“Wouldn't be possible without all the donations that we did have come in from a lot of the support services that we have, that we work with, and some of the farmers themselves.”
Smit once again recognized the volunteers and everyone who came out to enjoy a burger at the barbecue.