Participant Barb LeClair (left) and a group of shoppers lined up Monday night, Jan. 18 2021 (Photo courtesy Diane Herrick)

By Justin Goulet

Stitch It Forward Society offering free groceries for those in need

Jan 19, 2021 | 11:26 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Stitch It Forward Society of Lethbridge is paying it forward during the tough times of COVID-19.

The local not-for-profit is running its ‘Grocery Give Away’ this week. Thanks to funding from the Canadian Red Cross, they have 500 $50 gift cards to both Save-On-Foods grocery stores in Lethbridge.

Anyone in the city and surrounding community can sign up and receive a card for some late-night shopping. A sign up link is available here.

Participants get a card when they visit Save-On-Foods at 10:00 p.m., then head into the store and grab what they need to stock their shelves. The first $50 is free with the gift card, but any additional amount over the $50 must be covered by shoppers.

The first event was held Monday night, January 18. 95 gift cards were used at the north-side Save-On-Foods.

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“It was really impressive to see how grateful everybody was when they came through the tills. Even after standing in line for a while, I was worried that by the time we got to the end, people would be tired of standing in line, but they weren’t,” said Diane Herrick, board president and co-founder of Stitch It Forward.

“Everybody was happy to be there and grateful for the groceries and we got several emails and Facebook messages today saying, ‘thank you for this’ – they needed the extra to get them through the week before they get a paycheck.”

Herrick said it was fun to see what people shopped for during the campaign’s opening event.

Some of the top items were toilet paper, different meats, shampoo and hand sanitizer.

“We want to give a shout-out to Save-On-Foods because they went above and beyond to make sure the customers were all taken care of. The staff were wonderful that stayed after work to run the tills. They made sure everything was in order and people could shop easily and the store was always clean…they were just good to work with, said Herrick.

Stitch It Forward is holding another Grocery Give Away tonight (Jan. 19) at the west-side Save-On-Foods. The group will then be at the north Save-On-Foods Wednesday before returning to the west-side on Thursday, Jan. 21.

Herrick noted that only one person per household can attend. She said, including Monday night, a total of 333 people have signed up, leaving 167 spots open as of this writing.

STITCH IT FORWARD

Herrick told LNN that the Stitch It Forward Society of Lethbridge was conceived about two years ago.

“My husband had a massive heart attack that resulted in a double bypass,” she said.

“When he was in the hospital, he was given a heart-shaped pillow and I asked the nurse where it came from…it was made by volunteers.”

That act of kindness gave Herrick an idea. She wanted to help out and sew pillows for people in need. Herrick said she started talking with other people in the community who also wanted to help, and then got in touch with local organizations to find out if they had any specific needs her group could address.

“It grew into a not-for-profit organization very quickly,” she commented.

Volunteers of Stitch It Forward knit, sew, crochet and quilt items needed in the region. Organizations can ask for blankets, pillows etc.

Herrick said there were only 21 volunteers at the beginning of last year, but once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Stitch It Forward roster saw a significant boost. There are now over 100 volunteers.

“COVID has actually been a blessing to our organization because we were able to make over 7,000 COVID-related items and get the extra volunteers,” she said.

The group also received $189,000 in COVID-19 support grants, which has helped them take on projects like the Grocery Give Away.

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