Andrea Richards has been filling up a trailer with food for the West Side Food Bank in Saint John for the past four years. But this time, she says it’s taking longer than expected.
Richards says she’ll remain in the 55-foot unit until it’s filled.
"It’s very, very slow this year," said Richards. “A lot of people don't have money here in this town. A lot of working poor, a lot of income assistance people."
Richards and her family know first-hand how important the food bank is.
“We’ve had a lot of times in my life where we really didn't have the most stuff, so we have had to stop into the food bank ourselves,” said Tevin Richards, Andrea’s son. “I have a lot of friends in Saint John who I know use the food bank, whether or not they'd tell us that or not, but I know for a fact they have.”
Though the truck isn’t quite half full, staff from the food bank say the Richards family have gathered enough food to last about two months.
"I know in the month of May alone they had around 708 people come to use the food bank just in the one month, and around 200, almost 300 of those people were children. So there is definitely a need," said Tevin
With the donations down this year, the Richards say they’re thankful for the people who are stepping up.
“Karma - you do good deeds and good deeds will come back," said Saint John resident Derek Bennett. "One day I could be in that situation and what if I ask for help and no one gave it to me - I would think back, like why didn't I do a good thing?”
The Richards’ hope more people will do a good deed so they can fill this floor and make a whooping donation to the food bank.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ashley Blackford.
