Spirit of Christmas

StoreHouse Foodbank gives families in need a helping hand during the Holiday season

Linda Downey of The StoreHouse Foodbank in Wellington is about as busy as anyone can be right now. Downey leads the charge for the StoreHouse’s annual Christmas Hamper campaign. It’s something that she has organized for over 15 years for the holidays. Downey started out of her garage for a couple years before the StoreHouse found a permanent home in the Pentecostal Church on Niles Street. The hamper program provides families with everything they need to prepare a Christmas dinner. There is a turkey, a bag of fruit and vegetables, milk, bread, eggs, margarine, garlic and the fixings. The StoreHouse shuts down for two weeks after December 19, so anyone who is receiving the Christmas hamper will also receive two weeks worth of groceries as well as a large bag full of Christmas gifts with everything from toys to new pairs of socks.

Over 100 people have signed up to receive a hamper this year, which means that Downey and her team have some organizing to do. Luckily, every year in December, the Pentecostal Church allows the StoreHouse to expand into the church and use almost all its floor space to collect and organize all the packages for this massive holiday undertaking. Downey explains what else goes into each holiday hamper aside from food.

“A family’s hamper would also receive pajamas, socks and underwear as well as two new Christmas books from County Kids Read. They’ll also receive two gifts from the Angel Tree to which their names will be on. One thing that we are not short on this year are toys, which feels great just in case we miss someone,” says Downey, who admits she and her husband have gone out last-minute shopping for people who have signed up late and the StoreHouse’s supplies have been depleted.

The next goal for Downey is to collect the remaining gifts in Consecon and Wellington before starting the giant task of sorting everything into custom packages. In one of the large rooms at the StoreHouse, Downey and two volunteers will put up three rows of tables, and then place the laundry baskets down and start filling them equally. With over 15 years experience, Downey has the movements down to a science, but that doesn’t make it less hard physically. Before the Store- House starts focusing on the last big push of the season, it must ensure that all the shut-ins who rely on them are given enough supplies to last them until the StoreHouse opens again on January 7.

“Once the shut-ins are tended to and all the hamper packages given out, I will basically sleep until we open back up again on January 7,” says Downey.

As far as donations, Downey says this year was a banner year, with lots of people stepping up and offering new toys to the cause. She has noticed that the cash donations have declined significantly this year, and she is hoping that some kind soul will step up to the plate and fill the void. Unfortunately for the StoreHouse, it’s a never-ending cycle of need that doesn’t let up with the holidays. It’s a year-long struggle to help the people who live in this community and are in need of a helping hand.

This year, Downey was surprised to see a lot more involvement from the kids in the Ameliasburgh, Consecon and Rednersville areas of the County and credits their willingness to get involved to the success the hamper program this year.

Downey and the StoreHouse may need your help this year in areas like buying milk, eggs and fresh bread. Those can’t be stored and need to be bought close to Christmas. It’s a hefty expense considering there are over a hundred packages to go out. The StoreHouse Foodbank also organizes holiday hampers for Easter and Thanksgiving, as well as the Snowsuit Fund, which provides warm clothing to kids in need this winter.

Other good Samaritans lending time to the cause are Food to Share who donated all the vegetables this year, and Chef Michael Hoy, who will be baking the Christmas cookies.

For more information on the holiday hamper program, please visit the website at wellingtonfoodbank. org. The StoreHouse Foobank serves Wellington, Hillier, Consecon, Rosehall, Carrying Place, Ameliasburgh, Rednersville and Bloomfield.