Vegreville Arborist Ready to Chip Away at Hunger

Vegreville Arborist Ready to Chip Away at Hunger

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

Vegreville arborist Peter LaRue is gearing up for the third annual ‘Chip Away at Hunger’ event this Saturday. LaRue, owner of LaRue Tree Certified Arborists, will have his chipping equipment set up behind the Vegreville post office between 10 am and 2 pm Saturday, January 11. He encourages residents to drop off their Christmas trees and make a donation to the Vegreville Food Bank.

LaRue said tree companies all over North America offer this service as a way of generating donations for a variety of charities. “We decided to do this for the Vegreville Food Bank,” noted LaRue, as supplies of non-perishable food items get low after Christmas.

The company has the equipment and expertise, and provides a method of disposing of the trees in an environmentally friendly way. “The town has always been grateful,” said LaRue, because the wood chips are recycled as opposed to being thrown into the landfill. LaRue said his company uses the wood chips as ground cover around spruce and pine trees that are planted in the spring.

Donations of non-perishable food items as well as cash donations will be accepted during the event. “Everyone who brings a Christmas tree will have their name put into a draw for a tree fertilization treatment,” added LaRue.