Volunteers at the Osoyoos Food Bank will be busy again in the lead-up to Christmas as they were in this file photo taken last year. Volunteers from left are: Stan Wolter, Diane Zorn, Lenore Anderson, Bonnie Martin, Bryan Zorn and Pastor Phil Johnson of Osoyoos Baptist Church. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The Osoyoos Food Bank hopes that local residents are again generous this year as it plans to deliver more than 100 Christmas food hampers to needy families.
Because the hampers are intended to provide specific items for a Christmas dinner, cash donations are easier to use, said Phil Johnson, pastor at the Osoyoos Baptist Church, which operates the food bank.
Nonetheless, certain items such as pie filling and stovetop stuffing for the hampers can be donated, Johnson said.
As well, with a regular food bank coming up on Dec. 11 and with ongoing needs, donations of non-perishable foods are always welcome.
“We have a community that has always been so consistent and generous,” said Johnson. “They’ve always provided just as much as we’ve needed. So we’ve never really started a formal push. It’s usually other organizations that contact us and say, ‘We’d like to help you.’”
The Christmas hampers are distributed on Dec. 21.
Johnson said the food bank likes to purchase special items to give people a nice Christmas dinner – such as Christmas cakes, turkey, stuffing, oranges, chocolate, cranberry and other Christmas items.
They also provide hams as an alternative to turkey, because some couples find them easier to prepare.
Demand for the Christmas hampers has gone up in recent years, Johnson said, adding that it exceeds the number of users of the regular food bank.
On average the food bank sees between 50 and 60 families per month, he said.
Some families, however, manage to scrape by normally, but they find the extra expense of gifts and the cost of Christmas dinner strains their finances.
“They find it a little bit tougher,” he said.
Users of the regular food bank are often having problems making ends meet for a variety of reasons, Johnson said.
Many are on medical disability due to back injuries, mental health or other chronic diseases and the disability payments they receive are often under $1,000 a month.
Others are working poor, who are employed in minimum wage jobs, but need help in months when they experience hardships such as illness, too few hours or seasonal layoffs.
“They’re the ones that we see sporadically,” said Johnson. “It’s kind of like they’re just making it barely.”
Some of these people seek help at the church outside of the regular food bank days when they experience “hiccups,” Johnson said.
Most people genuinely need the help, he said, though there’s the odd person who abuses the community’s generosity.
“You will always have people taking advantage of it and we do our best to discourage them,” said Johnson. “But we don’t know everybody’s circumstances, so we would rather believe that in a worst-case scenario, God is going to find us guilty of being compassionate. And they’ll be guilty of something else.”
He cautions too about making quick judgments about food bank users who arrive in nice cars. It may be that the car belongs to a friend, family member or neighbour.
“Sometimes we get people who have done well in the past and then they’ve gotten a hiccup,” he said, adding that they may be between jobs or may just be one paycheque away from living on the street.
“Do I sell my car and buy a $500 junker that can cost way more in maintenance?” he asks.
In addition to operating the Osoyoos Food Bank, the Osoyoos Baptist Church is also hosting Christmas dinner on Dec. 25.
“This is for anybody,” said Johnson. “It’s not a dinner for the poor. It’s for anybody who wants to come.”
There is no charge for the dinner, but donations are welcome.
The dinner is especially popular with people who would otherwise be on their own, but who want to have dinner in the community. Sometimes snowbirds, who didn’t bring all their pots and pans, come to enjoy a full Christmas dinner.
Those interested in attending should call 250-495-6581 to let the church know so that numbers can be planned for.
People wishing to donate cash to the food bank can make a cheque payable to Osoyoos Food Bank and can drop it off at the church office or mail it to 6210 – 97th Street, Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V4.
Johnson emphasizes that the finances for the food bank are completely separate from those of the Osoyoos Baptist Church. The church can issue a receipt for tax purposes, he said.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
