Interfaith Food Bank celebrates 35 years

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman & Justin Sibbet - Lethbridge Herald on July 13, 2024.

Herald photo by Justin Sibbet Executive director Danielle McIntyre delivers a speech to staff members, volunteers, board members, community leaders and others during the 35-year anniversary event at the Interfaith Food Bank on Friday morning.

The Interfaith Food Bank is celebrating 35 years in the community and with it the launch of their “35th anniversary endowment campaign,” with a goal of raising $35,000.

Danielle McIntyre, executive director told media Friday that even though it is sad to need an organization like the food bank, they are very happy to be able to help those in need and hope to continue doing it for as long as they are needed.

“It’s actually a shame that we have to admit that the food bank has been around and needed for this many years, but we are so proud of the accomplishments that we have made and the community contributions that have brought everything together over the last 35 years,” said McIntyre.

She said food banks were intended to be a temporary measure that started in the 1980s when the economy collapsed but unfortunately over the last 30 to 40 years, they have seen that food banks have been woven into the social fabric of every community.

“We need to ensure that we’re going to be here for another 35 years, so in honour of our 35th anniversary we have launched our anniversary campaign hoping to raise $35,000 to go into our endowment fund,” said McIntyre.

She explained the funds will be invested and once the pool is large enough the idea is for the food bank to be able to draw off to cover ongoing operational costs.

When talking about the impact the food bank has had on the community, McIntyre said they help thousands of people on a yearly basis and therefore in the 35 years of operations they probably helped hundreds of thousands of people along the way.

“We have had some good years where our numbers have gone down, but unfortunately we’re in a situation right now where our numbers are at an unprecedented high,” said McIntyre.

She said that even though they have an incredibly high number of clients, the help from the community is just as high if not even higher.

“It is incredible, the community support that has come in to allow us to be able to serve the community for 35 years, there’s a lot of milestones and markers that we can celebrate because of it, but I think the most important thing to acknowledge is the number of lives that have been touched over these 35 years,” said McIntyre.

She said they are a vital service in the community and are very grateful to their many volunteers, community groups that send their youth to help, donors and everyone in the community that in one way or another have helped them get to where they are today.

Two of those volunteers are Jan and Blair Roth, who have been volunteering together for the last 15 years.

Jan told the Herald Friday she started as a member of the board of directors, she stayed in her role for 14 years and after retiring from it she started volunteering. Blair told the Herald it was then when he was voluntold to come along and has been doing it ever since and is currently a member of the board.

“I volunteer at the reception, I take donations of either cash, cheques, food, anything and I also help with intake questions from those who need to register,” said Jan.

“We’ve been volunteering within the facility, but also special events. So, when we have pancake breakfasts or a Canada Day celebration, we always volunteer for those and they’re always lots of fun,” said Blair.

He added that even when they volunteer within the building with interfaith food bank, they often feel like they get more out of it than they give.

McIntyre said the volunteers, staff and community helpers deserve the credit and praise for the many years of dedication to Lethbridge.

“There are so many people (who) deserve the thanks for the accomplishments that have been made,” said McIntyre.

“We know that there will be so much more support coming forward because this community has always come through.”

When asked about some of the highlights that come to mind, McIntyre said the first one to pop up is the growth of the organization beyond just the emergency food services.

“For example, we started the intervention of country kitchen in 2005 to be able to teach people how to cook their own food, in 2013 we added our learning garden, in 2022 we were able to add the indigenous healing garden and of course the purchase of this facility in 2010 and the various renovations that we’ve gone through in that period of time to bring it to what it is today,” said McIntyre.

However, she said there are also plenty of highlights that are not marked with dates on a calendar.

“The inspiration I take out of this place sustains me,” said McIntyre. “I am always grateful when I go home because I get to see people who have so much less and it reminds me I shouldn’t be complaining about the little things that bother me in my life when there are so many people (who) have so much less.”

Indeed, McIntyre said the friendly faces of those who walk through her doors every single day, whether to provide or receive, are the true legacy of Interfaith Foodbank’s 35-year history.

“It’s the people, it’s the volunteers, it’s the staff.”

Those looking to get involved in the new fundraiser are asked to visit https://interfaithfoodbank.ca/35years/

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