Accueil Kateri Centre receives boost to keep feeding families in Ste. Anne

A surprise donation was made during the annual general meeting of Accueil Kateri Centre in Ste. Anne. 

The Lions Club International is dedicated to addressing food insecurity and hunger. 

Chris Barnard, a former resident of Ste. Anne, is now with the Riverside Lions Club in Winnipeg, and attended the meeting. 

Barnard presented a $650 cheque on behalf of the Lions Clubs in Manitoba, Minnesota and Northwestern Ontario, to help replace one of the aging freezers at the food bank. 

Accueil Kateri Centre presents how much money was spent on certain foods during the past fiscal year.

“There’s always people in need, there’s always people who need help,” Barnard says. “It’s so good to have a group of people like this that are willing to help, and if we can support them in some way, then that’s our piece of the pie.” 

In the beginning of May, SteinbachOnline reported on the poor condition of a couple of freezers at the food bank. Shortly after, a couple from the Southeast purchased a brand-new freezer for the food bank. And now with this cash donation from the Lions Club, both the oldest freezers are being replaced with new appliances. 

“We have to have lots of freezers,” explains Aurele Boisvert, President of Accueil Kateri Centre, “because sometimes we get a phone call from a butcher's place or a large store and they have meat they want to move out, they don’t have any room for it, and it’s now. It’s not in a week from now. So, we have to freezers ready because we have to freeze it right away.” 

Aurele Boisvert shares their plan to improve nutrition for infants and toddlers.

Boisvert also extended appreciation for the ongoing support from Clearview Co-op, making sure the food bank has a building to operate out of. 

Geoff Dilts, Operations Manager at Clearview Co-op, attended the Annual General Meeting. 

“To hear what they’re doing for the kids especially, it’s... wow. I can’t say enough about an organization that looks after the kids in the community that well,” Dilts says. “And to hear what they do special for Christmas, to make sure that every kid gets a gift at Christmas time, I think it’s awesome.” 

Clearview Co-op's General Manager Martin Trudeau was also in attendance and appreciated the detailed report on work being done by Accueil Kateri Centre. 

“The statistics that they showed tonight, the majority of the help is going to children... as society, we really owe it to the little ones to look after them. So, you know, your heart bleeds for the kids that don't have what they should have. Everyone should be fed. It's not a luxury, it's a need. So, if we can all help together and band together to get there, I think it's wonderful.” 

The food hamper program supports 341 people, and 156 of them are children under the age of 17.

At the meeting, the board shared some numbers, and it was noted that they spent $95,000 on food during the past fiscal year, which is $20,000 more than they had budgeted for. 

Boisvert says they were able to handle the increase in food costs because they received some unexpected, one-time donations. 

He says the ongoing generosity from the public and the business community helps motivate the board and 40 volunteers to continue working hard to ease the suffering of people in the town and rural municipality of Ste. Anne.