Ken Thibault, past president of the Osoyoos Elks Lodge 436, (centre) delivers a load of Osoyoos apples to the food bank in Burns Lake as part of the Laurie Meier Memorial Apple Drive. At left is Carlos Green, project chairman with Prince George Elks Lodge 122, who was also driver, and at right is Candice Little, co-ordinator of the Burns Lake food bank. Thibault and his wife Mellhina were instrumental in starting the apple drive after they moved down from Prince George to Osoyoos in 2002 and subsequently bought an orchard. The program collects surplus apples from growers around Osoyoos and sends them to Prince George for distribution to food banks in a number of communities near and along the Highway 16 corridor. (Contributed photo)

The Osoyoos Elks have had a wildly successful apple drive, collecting more than 20,000 pounds of apples for distribution to food banks in northern B.C.

Ken Thibault, past president of Osoyoos Elks Lodge 436, says this year’s collection is up by about 40 per cent over previous years – and more apples could still come in.

“A few more donors have come on board, so that’s really helped out,” said Thibault.

The apple drive program, which is a joint effort between the Osoyoos Elks and Prince George Elks Lodge 122, is now in its 13th year.

This year it was renamed as the Laurie Meier Memorial Apple Drive in honour of the Prince George Elks Lodge member who was instrumental for years with the program and who died last year.

“Laurie was president of the Elks in Prince George when we got things going,” said Thibault. “He was there all along.”

Meier helped the Elks in their plan to reach communities across B.C. on the Highway 16 corridor from Prince Rupert to the Alberta border, Thibault said. That plan is still in progress, with a goal to serve Prince Rupert by 2020.

The donated apples come from local growers and packers and they typically are too small or have other defects so they aren’t perfect for the retail market.

But they’re excellent for people relying on food banks who spend their money on necessities like rent and consider fresh fruit to be a luxury, Thibault said.

“We’re so lucky down here that we take fruit for granted,” he said. “But up there it’s a luxury and especially when you’ve got low-income people, fresh fruit is pretty low on their list, so when they get an opportunity to get fresh apples, it’s just amazing to them.”

The fruit is distributed to food banks in such communities as Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Mackenzie, McBride, Valemount, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James and Burns Lake.

Growers who provide the apples receive a tax receipt.

Thibault said the Osoyoos Elks know about a week ahead of time when the truck will be coming down and they round up apples, pack them into banana boxes and get them ready.

Thibault said the program started after he and his wife, Mellhina, moved down from Prince George in 2002 and subsequently bought an orchard.

“We saw so many apples just lying on the ground,” he recalls. “We knew, because we both volunteered at St. Vincent’s in Prince George, that so many people would appreciate apples and they were just being cast away. We thought we had to figure out a way to get some up to Prince George and the other food banks. That’s what triggered the idea and it just grew from there.”

Thibault thanks a number of people who helped with this year’s program, including growers Joe and Louisa Carvalho, Tony Demelo and Lual Orchards and Casa Del Mell.

He also thanks Ken Usher, Ingrid Nicholson and Elks Lodge 436 for help. He is grateful to members of Prince George Elks Lodge 122, led by project chairman and driver Carlos Green, as well as Dawn Crawford.

And he thanks Osoyoos Coyotes’ owner Randy Bedard and the six Coyotes who loaded the trailer.

In the 13 years of the apple drive, the Osoyoos Elks have delivered almost 140,000 pounds of apples, including this year, said Thibault.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

A truck is marked with the new name for the Elks’ Apple Drive. It’s now the Laurie Meier Memorial Apple Drive in memory of Meier, from Prince George, who was instrumental in the program and died last year. Pictured from left are Carlos Green of Prince George, Ken Thibault from Osoyoos and Jim Sale and Ken Usher from Osoyoos. (Contributed photo)