Newark Neighbours helps hungry and homeless in NOTL

With rising food and housing costs, Newark Neighbours is just one of most food banks across the country watching requests for their help increase, especially in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

The number of Niagara-on-the-Lake families facing food insecurity is growing, and in the last week or so, more names have been added to the list of those requiring help at Christmas, says food bank chair Cindy Grant.

Last year there were more families than ever before depending on Newark Neighbours for food hampers and toys for their children, and this year, even more again, she says.

And for those who think homelessness couldn’t be a problem in NOTL, says Grant, it is, with people who are “tucked away” living on the rural lines and concessions in outbuildings for shelter, “places where you wouldn’t realize or expect to find people living.”

She shares the story of one man who came in recently looking for warm clothes. He said he was a refugee, although didn’t share where from, or how he ended up in town. He was willing to pay for the hat, mittens and sweater he needed, although they didn’t take his money, and he said he had enough food — he had just found a job and had some cash — but it had to be food that didn’t need to be heated. “He was living in a barn with no way of cooking,” says Grant.

This is a critical time of year for those in need, but Grant says she feels the organization is well-equipped to help, at least when it comes to food and clothes.

Their storefront thrift shop looks a lot like Christmas, cheerful and inviting, a place to attract and welcome shoppers to help pay the bills and purchase what isn’t donated. But the real work at this time of year is just beginning, behind the scenes in the food bank area, providing much more space than was available last year.

“We realized the minute we moved in that our shelves in back would be full,” says Grant.

And fortunately the community continues to do its part, once again with incredible generosity, she adds.

Stories they hear from those in need are for the most part “the working poor,” those with incomes that just can’t meet today’s costs of food and housing. They include single parents, families where one parent has been laid off, and even two working parents with low-paying jobs, she says.

Those who are registered can come in every two weeks, and unlike most food banks, they can choose what their family needs from what’s on the stocked shelves, with limits determined by the number of family members, says Grant.

Food has been pouring in from local businesses, organizations and individuals, and toys are beginning to mount up. Grant estimates about 40 businesses and organizations are collecting food and toys, including wineries, churches and schools.

One of the businesses offering support is Niagara Motors. John Dick has recently returned to the car dealership his grandfather founded, and which his father Dave has taken over, and John has created a program to help Newark by asking those who drop by the dealership to bring non-perishable food or a toy in return for a ballot for weekly draws. Inside the showroom, the back of a pickup truck is being loaded with bags and boxes people are bringing in for Newark, and in return receiving extra ballots with weekly draws for gift certificates for Phil’s Your Independent Grocer and Gale’s Gas Bar. And on Dec. 22, there will be draws for two big-screen TVs, explains Dick.

He’s back in the family business after 15 years with a job in Toronto as a principal of business development at Flipp, a popular app providing digital grocery flyers in one place.

Raising his family in Oakville, he returned to Niagara Motors as general manager, “to my roots, as the third generation” involved in the business, he says. He also describes his roll as head of skunkworks, a term for a department of a company typically tasked with producing innovative research and development projects.

Visiting Niagara Motors Friday, Grant grabbed some of the toys to take with her to add to the trucks of food expected after the Candlelight Stroll last Friday, and toys and food from NOTL Hydro, which will be collected at the Christmas Parade this week, along with food collected by Newark Neighbours.

All of which is very much appreciated, with about 100 families now signed up, including 10 new registrations last week, says Grant.

In past years, Newark has asked parents to provide their children’s wishlist for toys, and volunteers would put them together with food hampers to pick up.

This year, with the number of families registered, Newark has a different plan. They have set aside two days, Dec. 12 and 14, for parents to come into the store and “shop” for toys for their children. How many they will be able to pick will be determined by what Newark has and how many children are on their list at that point, says Grant.

The week of Dec. 18 there is a team of volunteers who will begin putting together hampers, she adds.

The thrift store closes at the end of day Saturday, Dec 23 and reopens Jan. 2. The food bank closes Wednesday, Dec. 20 after the hamper distribution, and reopens Jan. 2.