This year’s Christmas Hamper program is about to get underway, and will be taking applications at various locations in the region between Nov. 15 and 18.
Organizer Esther Lang says that the program — which has been operated by the Community Resources Society for at least two decades — can be traced back about 40 years, when it began under the auspices of the United Church Women. She adds that the program is not affiliated with the E. Fry food bank in Ashcroft, although many people think they are related.
“It’s almost impossible to distance ourselves from the food bank, because that’s where the clients are and where we take applications. Although we’re not affiliated, we appreciate their support.”
Last year the hamper program distributed a record 190 hampers in Spences Bridge, Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Clinton, Walhachin, Cook’s Ferry, the Ashcroft Band, Bonaparte First Nation, High Bar, and Whispering Pines. Lang says that according to the local food bank’s statistics, the need for food in the area has increased, and she is working on the basis that even more hampers will be needed this year.
“We provide the hampers for those who feel they have a need. We don’t ask personal questions, and there’s no qualifying. If people think they’re in need of a hamper, they get one.”
In-person applications are being taken in five different communities this year:
Ashcroft (E. Fry office on Bancroft Street): Nov. 16 (noon to 2 p.m.); Nov. 17 and 18 (1 to 3 p.m.)
Cache Creek (Equality Project on Stage Road): Nov. 15 and 16 (noon to 2 p.m.)
Clinton (food bank building, Cariboo Highway): Nov. 15 and 16 (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Spences Bridge (SBID building on School Road): Nov. 17 and 18 (1 to 3 p.m.)
Bonaparte First Nation (health centre): Nov. 18 (noon to 2 p.m.)
Last year’s applications in Spences Bridge were hampered by the extensive flooding in the region and the loss of phone and internet services. “It was a real inconvenience for people there,” says Lang, “and it made our lives interesting, because we wanted to make sure they had a good Christmas dinner but didn’t know how to go about it, as everything was somewhat chaotic.”
In the end they prepared an extra five hampers to be taken to Spences Bridge, to ensure that everyone who needed a hamper but hadn’t been able to apply got one. This year, in order to facilitate hampers for people who can’t apply in person, phone applications will be taken from Nov. 22 to 26 only (and only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on those days). In Ashcroft and area call Shirley at (250) 453-2432; in Cache Creek and area call Chris at (250) 453-9534; in Spences Bridge and area call Trish at (250) 453-9656; and in Clinton and area call Vivian at (250) 457-7081.
Lang says that local businesses, organizations, non-profits, and individual community members provide donations ranging from cash to food to in-kind goods and services. The hamper boxes are provided by Teck, and Ashcroft Home Hardware donates a storage unit where the supplies are kept. Starting on Nov. 12, there will be collection tins at the Ashcroft and Cache Creek liquor stores, The Packing House in Spences Bridge, and Home Hardware in Clinton.
Also starting Nov. 12, shoppers at Ashcroft Safety Mart can make a cash donation via their grocery bill. There will be a shopping cart at the store for food donations, and Lang says they are looking for items such as pasta and sauce, tuna and tinned meats, canned vegetables and fruit, individual packets of oatmeal, soup, small packets of flavoured rice, cranberry sauce, stove top stuffing, tetra paks of juice, cookies, cereals and breakfast bars, beans, and 500ml jars of peanut butter. She adds that they would prefer no large packages of items such as rice that need to be broken down.
Items for the hampers are purchased in lots through Safety Mart. “It’s the most efficient way,” says Lang. “That way we don’t have to check the labels on every item to make sure they’re not outdated, and it means the hampers are fairly similar.” Single-person households get a $20 Safety Mart gift certificate to spend on whatever they like, while larger households will each receive a turkey.
Lang says she has a dedicated group of about two dozen volunteers who help out each year: “They look forward to helping us, so they’re trained in how to do things.” Getting all the hampers prepared takes four days: one day to get all the equipment into the Ashcroft community hall and get the tables and boxes set up, then three days of packing before delivery/pick-up day, which this year is on Dec. 17.
“We’re always happy to have the firefighters in Clinton, who have agreed to deliver hampers there, and Jim and Mavourneen in Spences Bridge. Bonaparte delivers their own, and the Ashcroft and District Lions are very good for transportation,” says Lang. “We’re quite privileged to have a lot of people helping.”
editorial@accjournal.ca
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