When the St. Paul Food Bank received a donation of a number of large pails filled with blueberry pie filling, the volunteers knew they couldn’t simply hand out the product to clients in need.
So, a unique partnership was formed with Portage College, and on Thursday morning students in the baking and institutional cook programs donated 86 handmade pies back to the food bank. The pies were made just in time for the Easter weekend, and volunteers with the food bank were going to try to hand out as many as they could in the next couple days.
“We’re always looking to give back to the community,” said Bev Moghrabi, associate vice president, student services, with Portage College. She was clearly impressed by the efforts being made in St. Paul to get students involved in community service, and working with other agencies for the betterment of the area.
“We’re better together,” is a slogan that Portage College believes in, said Moghrabi, adding, she knows there are some students at the college who use food banks when finances get tight.
Debbie Poulin, program coordinator Food Science programs/instructor with Portage College, says she is hoping to continue to do more partnerships in the community, and was eager to discuss further opportunities with the food bank.
“It’s nice to know we’re doing something productive for the community,” said Eleesha Papin, a student in the institutional cook program at Portage College, while standing next to the cart filled with pies.
Fellow student Becky Perron was happy to know that other people would get to enjoy the fresh products, saying, “I hope everyone that gets the pies enjoys them.”
Food bank volunteers Larry and Louise Lambert were on hand to accept the donation of pies. Larry, who is the chairman of the food bank, said the non-profit is looking to partner with other community groups to help those in need.
Poulin shared the same desire, saying she hoped to one day be able to host an event similar to what NAIT students do in Edmonton for the Bissell Centre at Thanksgiving.
As Poulin and Larry spoke on Thursday, they realized that the possibility of partnering again in the future was very likely. Larry mentioned a large shipment of horseradish that the food bank received, saying he was unsure how to use it. But a little brainstorming with Poulin and other staff at Portage revealed there were likely some possibilities.
“It’s a win-win,” said Larry, when speaking of future partnerships. “And then the community wins as well.”
In the past year, Larry estimates that about 1,800 people have been served by the St. Paul Food Bank.
