Christmas elves to help food bank

It was like it was meant to be.

That is how Barb Hodgins, owner of Barb’s Sewing, described how her plans for a food drive for Barrhead and District FCSS’ food bank began to take shape.

On Friday, Nov. 3, during Barrhead’s light up parade, an off-highway vehicle equipped with a trailer, along with helper elves, will travel up and down the route collecting non-perishable food items for the food bank.

Hodgins said although she wanted to organize something for a number of years, but for whatever reason she hasn’t been able to get around to it.

“Mostly because I’ve been busy,” Hodgins said, adding that like the majority of small business owners, the lead up to Christmas is their busiest time of year. “However, this year it just seemed something was telling me that I needed to do this.”

Hodgins explained how a series of coincidences over the course of a two-day period caused her to act.

The first in the chain of events was when she had the opportunity to discuss her idea with Robin Kapler who just happened to drop by her shop. Kapler is the current FCSS advocacy and support co-ordinator and former manager of the food bank.

After receiving the blessing of former FCSS’ food bank co-ordinator Kapler, she then received a visit from a person, who just moved into the area, asking if she knew about organizations or ways she could help the community through random acts of kindness.

“I told her about my idea and she was eager to help,” Hodgins said, adding she still did not want to commit until she spoke to someone from the local newspaper to see she could get the word out. “That’s when you showed up.”

[Writer’s note: I was at Barb’s Sewing to pick up an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.]

The Christmas light-up parade takes place on Main Street starting at 7 p.m.

For those people who miss the quad, a food bank donation box will be at her store until Nov. 10.

FCSS executive director Shelly Dewsnap said Hodgin’s food drive came as a complete surprise.

“It’s such a wonderful program that serves a real need so it is always great to hear how people in our community step up to help the food bank and everyone that it serves,” she said, adding the food drive comes at the right time.

On average, Barrhead’s food bank serves about 16 families weekly, a number that is double of what it was two years ago. Dewsnap said although the food bank’s stockpile is relatively healthy it doesn’t take long for it to be depleted.

Dewsnap added it is the lead up to the holiday season when they build up a surplus that tides them over through what are generally slower donation months over the winter.