Social media has saved the day for a Moncton man in need.
Kevin Bastarache thought he was on the list to receive a food hamper from a food bank, but when that didn’t happen, some strangers stepped up to make his Christmas a little brighter.
“Middle of November I went to the food bank and they asked me if I wanted to sign up for the Christmas food box. I said ‘yes.’ Any help during the holidays is a great help.”
Bastarache suffers from extreme anxiety and, as a result, has a hard time keeping a job. He has recently come to rely on food banks and was relieved to be offered some extra help before the holidays.
However, the delivery window came and went for Bastarache to receive the food hamper, so he called the food bank. He says they told him to call back Friday morning.
“I got the answering machine, which basically told me that the Christmas food program was done for the holidays, have a Merry Christmas, and so on and so forth.”
When a member of a Facebook news site learned of his situation, she put out a call for help. People quickly responded and started coordinating a way to bring goods to Bastarache.
“We have a drop-off point. We have people going through their cupboards,” says contributor Salisha Tatton. “We know when it is going to be delivered, and it literally was in two-and-a-half hours from start to finish that people took this on.”
Simonne Daigle volunteered to pick up the donations and plans to deliver them to Bastarache Friday night.
She says the effort spiraled quickly.
“A turkey, potatoes, carrots, canned goods, spaghetti and even a little bit of cash, in case there is something else that we missed,” says Daigle.
CTV News visited the food bank Friday, but it is closed until Jan. 9, according to a sign posted on the door.
Bastarache says the actions of others have lifted his spirits.
“A random friend that I have never met lives in this city messages me, and she is like, ‘I am going to come and drop you off some groceries.’ Which is amazing.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's David Bell
