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Lethbridge families receive food donations from community organizations

May 19, 2021 | 1:37 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB– Families and students around Lethbridge received a nutritious delivery on Wednesday.

Connecting our Community Lethbridge, the Lethbridge Police Service, and the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen all teamed up to deliver food packages to between 50 to 60 families who have children in school.

The food packages will be going to families in both the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division and Lethbridge School District.

Mallory Kristjanson with Connecting our Community says food products, goodie bags, and hygiene products will be given out to these families.

“We are beyond blessed to have such extraordinary community collaboration within the city of Lethbridge. We have had the Lethbridge Food Banks, the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen, and surrounding non-profit organizations that believe that no child or family should have to go without right now.”

With students shifting to at-home learning earlier this month, some students may rely on school programs to provide them with food. Kristjanson says there was no better time to deliver the food than today.

“Aside from the at-home learning switch, we know there are tons of families in the community who are silently struggling right now. Often times there are children who may rely on programs within the school such as breakfast and lunch programs. Therefore, we decided to step up and make sure that there aren’t families who are silently struggling.”

The food and products have been donated by community members and non-profit organizations in and surrounding Lethbridge.

Organizers and community members loaded up multiple police vehicles before heading out to deliver the food around the city. The Lethbridge Police Services School Resource Officers (SRO) helped throughout the delivery process.

Sgt. Steve Veale with the LPS Community Engagement Unit says, although the focus is on the students, many parents and families are struggling as well. He says the partnership to help the community is something SRO’s are assigned to do.

“When the opportunity came to give back to these families and help take some of that burden off, it just makes total sense for us to do it and being able to collaborate with our partners, that’s what it’s all about. Not only do we work in the community, we live here, our kids go to school, our sports are here in normal times, so any time we can do something to be a part of this community, we’re going to do it.”

The partnership between LPS and Connecting our Community goes further than just supplying food to families, the ability to build relationships and trust with the community and students is a big part of the day for officers.

“This is huge for the SRO’s to be seen at the level they should be seen at,” says Veale. “Their primary function isn’t necessarily to enforce crime, it’s to establish those connections, relationships and trust, with the hope of future crime prevention, good citizenship and good decision making, as well as trusting the police and knowing we are there to help.”

The food delivery hits close to home for many volunteers helping out. Bill Ginther, Executive Director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen, says the reason they operate is to help out anyone, of any age, that is in need.

“We are happy to share our food. Where it is for me, being a grandparent and having grandchildren, if they were hungry, I would do everything I could to make sure they had food. But there’s other kids who, when school was operational in person, would leave on Friday and have some food at school, and then they would tell the staff that they wouldn’t eat again until Monday morning. That can’t be, so if we could help with that, that is way we operate.”

If you would like to donate or are in need of support, you can contact the Connecting our Community Lethbridge page, or any local food bank, including the soup kitchen in Lethbridge. Kristjanson says there is a large factor of poverty going on in Lethbridge that isn’t talked about enough.

“It’s really important for those that are able to reach out to friends, coworkers, and even neighbourhoods and ask people to step up and give those donations. It’s extremely important right now because there’s a large factor of poverty that’s facing the community right now that we don’t talk about enough. So, by doing something, you can spark that contagious effect for other people to step up and give back to their community if they are able to.”

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