INNISFAIL – Paul Begg loves anniversaries.
And he’s also the type of fellow who wants to give back, especially to his community.
Last week Begg, the owner of Paul’s No Frills Innisfail, celebrated his first anniversary operating the grocery store.
And he’s giving back in a big way.
“To celebrate that we've had some amazing sales on all week,” said Begg. “But I also wanted to give a little bit more back to the community.”
On Feb. 28 Begg was with Val Davies, coordinator of the Innisfail and District Food Bank and Heather Taylor, the agency’s co-coordinator, to give them four special pallets that were stacked with more than 2,000 dry grocery items, along with scores of hygiene products.
“That's other stuff the food bank really needs. We can help fill the gap a little bit more,” said Begg, noting the dry food items will also fill a need. “We have sparkling waters. We have pancake mix. I know pancake mix is always one that's in demand. And there’s lots and lots of cereal.”
Begg came to Innisfail a year ago after completing a company training program. The No Frills store in Innisfail is the first one he has owned.
“It has been a journey, that's for sure,” said Begg. “Honestly, Innisfail is the most generous and kindest town. It’s been overwhelming; the welcome I’ve had since day one.
“It's humbling to have some support. People come up and say hello, and there’s always a friendly face,” he added.
As for the thousands of donated dry grocery items, Begg said he just gave Davies, who works at the store, a shopping list for what was needed at the food bank.
“It warms my heart. I can't say enough good things about Paul, and what he does for our community and for our food bank; just for people in general,” said Davies.
Tayler noted that the local food bank was the recipient of unprecedented generosity over the past Christmas holiday season.
However, she added the demand for service for her agency remains high.
“I would say our average over the last two years that I've been involved is that we are around 200 to 220. We're up to 354,” said Taylor.
Both food bank coordinators agreed last week’s generosity from Paul’s No Frills Innisfail was a “very large donation” that will help the agency serve Innisfail’s needy in the early months of 2024.
“There’s a lot of products that we have to purchase as well. This helps offset that,” said Davies.
