There’s sadness and a sense of disbelief at a food bank in Glace Bay, N.S. after someone dumped furnace or motor oil over hundreds of dollars worth of vegetables growing in a garden.
On Wednesday, the senseless act was being felt throughout the community.
“This took some food out of people’s mouths,” says food bank co-ordinator Patricia Hurley. “I can’t believe that there’s someone around here that would do something like that. I mean there are kids that are going to do without, because of this.”
A gaping hole is now left in the garden, which volunteers have been working on for the last couple of years to grow vegetables for people who can’t afford them.
“I was totally devastated, I had tears in my eyes,” says volunteer Fred Peach. “I had to actually go into the barn and wipe my eyes a couple of times.”
Peach has been volunteering at the garden since it was created. Suffering from bipolar disorder, it helps him find happiness.
“It was heart-wrenching to tear all that up, put in bags and take it out for compost,” says Peach. “It really hurt. I don’t know why people would do such a thing.”
The Cape Breton Regional Police say they are investigating, but so far have no leads. Officials at the food bank say there are cameras on the back of the building, but it was too dark to see anything.
“There is going to be a change made, that sensor lights are going to be on,” says Hurley. “So if anyone comes around, they will be on camera.”
Hurley says the estimated damage is in the hundreds of dollars. Last month, the food bank fed 299 families, which included 207 children.
“We’re a non-profit organization, we are here to help people, not hurt people,” says Hurley. “For someone to do that, they’re hurting the people that use this service. Not us, but the people that use this service.”
Hurley says a lot of hours and money spent on the garden is now down the drain, but she says the volunteers are already starting to plant vegetables in hopes of repairing all the damage that was done.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore
