On a rainy Tuesday morning in May, two women are sorting through the plastic tubs of apples and oranges in the coolers at the Mountain View Food Bank in uptown Olds.From there, they headed toward the grocery shelves, where boxes of Kraft Dinner, cereal and crackers were displayed.The women are among nearly 40 food bank clients who have come through the door today, the one day of the week when the charity is open.“Nowadays, you find a lot of working families come in for help,” said Pat Graham, one of the founding directors, who has been with the food bank for many years. “Last year, it was big families, people with kids. It changes over the years.”Graham saw a dramatic increase in 2008, when a lot of people lost their jobs. “People would move here to town from the big cities,” she added. “It would cost them nearly $6,000 just to move. They're coming here with nothing and they've got the first month's rent and a damage deposit to pay. We might see them for up to three months until they get on their feet.”Until that happens, clients can apply for a hamper up to six times in a 12-month period. The first time they visit the food bank, they have to fill out a client intake form that details their monthly income and monthly expenses. They also have to provide information on who lives in their household.Then a volunteer takes the information and fills the hamper.Behind the scenes, away from the front of the food bank where clients fill their bags, volunteer Bonnie Robb is filling a hamper for a family that has two adults and three kids. She has a list that she refers to that tells her the exact contents: crackers, Kraft Dinner, cookies, cheese, hamburger, wieners, shampoo, milk, peanut butter, canned ham.“When there are school-aged children, we provide lunch supplies and juice boxes,” Robb said.She holds up a strawberry shortcake that was donated. “This'll go in the hamper, too.”Donations come from throughout the county, from collection bins in stores, from food drive events such as the RCMP's annual Christmas checkstop and from retail stores that donate nearly expired goods. Day-old doughnuts and muffins come in from Tim Hortons.Volunteers replenish the shelves with groceries bought from cash donations.“You have to believe in it to work here,” said Graham. “It's a worthwhile adventure. You can't think, get out there and get a job. You have to know that you're making a difference in someone's life.”She added that all information taken in at the food bank is confidential. “We want people to come in and feel welcome and at ease. We never, ever want to make someone feel uncomfortable.“We don't tolerate that.”As the morning wears on, there's a lull in clients in the front area. Finally, the volunteers can sit down for a few moments for a coffee break of muffins and chips.And yet one woman keeps on working. She sloshes a mop into a bucket of sudsy water and starts cleaning the floor.“The food bank has operated for 23 years completely through the dedication of volunteers,” said Murray Owen, president of the organization. “It's one of the few in Alberta that is still run solely by volunteers. Last year, over 10,000 volunteer hours were put in.“This is a million-dollar business.”The growth of the organization has kept pace with the need for food, he added. “It just quietly happened. Even the donations have kept pace.“There are a lot of generous people.”Most of the volunteers are retirees, but there are also some strong young people from the Olds Association for Community Living. Over the years, the Mormon missionaries have consistently helped as well.“We're always looking for more volunteers,” Graham said.She recalls the early days of the food bank. “There was a time when we worked out of the back of cars,” she said. “We've come a long way.”And there is no reason that anyone should ever be hungry, she added. “I really, really believe this has a purpose,” Graham said. “We need help right here in our own country.”
