August 17, 2011 Volume 7 • Number 33 50¢ Newsstand Price
north shore
INSIDe
Miss Canada speaks out – page 2
north shore artwalk ‘til september 5
starting at Northills Centre
also
Growing produce and friendships at Gardengate – page 5
open for business 250.376.2411
your neighbourhood. your newspaper.
Extras from gardens and trees go to Food Bank What a wonderful place we live in. The soil is rich, the water flows and the sky is blue. There is an abundance of life all around us. Fruit falls from the trees, and edible flowers and vegetables rise from the gardens. This area has all the stuff that fills the dreams of people in less prosperous regions and no one knows that better than the caring and generous folks over at the Kamloops Food Bank. With help from volunteers all over our community, Service Canada and their student summer jobs program and a little planning, the Kamloops Food Bank has been rolling out their gleaning program. Aimed at taking advantage of our area’s natural resources which happen to be an abundance of fruit trees and vegetable gardens, the gleaning programs coordinates and helps area residents rid themselves of unwanted fresh fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste. “We have been running the program for three years now as a team but the program itself has been around in some degree for five years,” explains Bernadette Siracky, executive director of the Kamloops Food Bank. “We wouldn’t be able to do it without our summer students, so we are delighted to have Service Canada’s support. It enables us to hire two summer students who are dedicated to the program. It is magical, it couldn’t happen without them.” Essentially how this program works
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Warehouse manager Wes Graham, Philippe Gauvin-Vallée, and gleaning coordinator Breanne Lapointe check out the bumper crop in the hillside pumpkin (or squash!) patch at the Food Bank. Philippe hails from Montreal and is one of two students at the Food Bank on a six-week exchange program sponsored by the YMCA that places Canadian youth in summer jobs at non-profit agencies. Breanne has worked as the gleaning coordinator on a student job placement through Service Canada. In the fall she returns to her philosophy studies at TRU.
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is quite simple. The students spend the majority of their summer picking fruits and vegetables from various gardens around town. Community residents with active fruit trees also call into the Food Bank letting them know that they have fruit that they don’t want or need and would like to donate to the program. The gleaners then schedule an appointment, go out and pick the trees and bingo - fruit for everyone! “People start calling at the beginning of the season,” explains Wes Graham, Food Bank warehouse manager who also facilitates the gleaning program. “Lots of people call, so many that we fill up our schedule really fast. People have learnt to call early so we can get their tree on the schedule.” The tree-picking schedule for this year is already full but that doesn’t mean they still won’t accept your fruit. Because of the late growing season this year they expect fruit to be popping up on your trees until late fall. Unfortunately because the gleaners are university students employed for just the summer months they won’t be around for your apples and later blooming fruit. They welcome any extras you may have and are more than happy to accept it at the Food Bank facility. “Right now we probably can’t come and pick any more trees than we have already scheduled,” continues Wes. “But if you want to donate it we would – continued on page 2 449 Tranquille Road 250-376-0058 229 Victoria Street 250-372-3565 Royal Inland Hospital (Front Entrance)
Artwalk
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