After organizing several food drives for communities like Shamattawa First Nation, Thompson resident Bobbi Montean is turning her attention to the people of Cross Lake on Jan. 27.
Similar to her last food drive, this upcoming event, titled “Feeding the Hunger #2,” will take place at the Westwood Mall, where locals are encouraged to drop off their non-perishable food items in the spirit of helping out fellow Northern Manitobans.
“Even though they are a community that has road access and people can easily get in and out of the community, there’s still issues with food and sustainability,” said Montean, adding that. “Cross Lake has still been struggling with a lot of the issues that brought them to the national spotlight a short while ago, with the suicides and with all the other social issues that are occurring.”
This time around, Montean has also enlisted the help of Cross Lake resident April Ross, who started her own Facebook group back in 2013 to co-ordinate local food deliveries for families in need.
“A lot of people are out of food because there’s a high unemployment rate,” said Ross. “So when people run out of food somebody would contact me and I’d request food on our giveaway page and give the people what was donated.”
Ross told Nickel Belt News that the unemployment rate is compounded by the fact that groceries are very expensive in Cross Lake, with a four-litre carton of milk costing almost $7.
Moving forward, Ross hopes that events like “Feeding the Hunger #2” will encourage Cross Lake residents to establish their own official food bank, similar to what’s available in Thompson.
As for Montean, she remains confident that the charitable nature of Thompson residents will shine through later this month, since she accumulated over 500 pounds of donations at her previous food drive.
“I just think it’s really really important that we support our neighbours. Thompson is all about community. Well, our community is not just the City of Thompson. Our community is the whole north.”
If you would like to volunteer or find out more about this upcoming food drive, please contact Montean via the “Feeding the Hunger #2” Facebook page.
