Avondale and House of Blessing team up for community food drive

An upcoming food drive run by Avondale United Church and Stratford House of Blessing will ensure that those facing hunger and food insecurity are still fed during the summer months.

Avondale United Church and Stratford House of Blessing will host a community food drive on June 7 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Representatives from both the House of Blessing and Avondale will be in the church’s parking lot receiving food item and cash donations to support the House of Blessing’s food bank and Avondale’s food shelf.

Avondale’s food shelf began as a shelf inside the Sunday school of St. John’s United Church in 2009. The church’s food shelf is run by 12 volunteers and is open every Friday from 1-2:30 p.m. Avondale has a full room just for the food shelf including two freezers, two fridges, and lots of shelves.

House of Blessing’s food bank runs from Tuesday to Thursday between 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-3 p.m., with food delivery service on Tuesdays, as well as Wednesday and Thursday mornings. For 40 years, House of Blessing helps Stratford and area residents in need with initiatives like back-to-school smiling, Christmas toy program, and new baby welcome.

Both Avondale and House of Blessing are always looking to stock their shelves with cereal, jam, peanut butter, instant coffee, and canned fruits and vegetables. Hot dogs and pop will also be available to purchase by donation at the food drive.

Aaron Balzer, resource coordinator for the Stratford House of Blessing, said that following the fall food drives for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as a spring food drive, summer is typically a slower month for donations.

"People in the summer are going on vacation. Their routines are a little bit different, so they're not necessarily remembering that there's still hungry people in our community, so it does tend to be a bit of a slower time for donations,” Balzer said.

The community food drive’s spirit is to ensure that everyone works together so that those facing hunger are fed. There’s been lots of teamwork and collaboration already with House of Blessing and Avondale, with Balzer designing the poster for the event.

“Part of collaborating is also recognizing each other's talents and what we offer each other. Where one organization may need some help the other organization may be more equipped to help deal with certain situations,” said Aleah Graff, Avondale’s community engagement coordinator.

Balzer added that collaboration between the two organizations, among others, will help those in need at any time -even if it’s outside of the House of Blessing’s hours.

"There are times where our food bank isn't open, or people are asking 'Can I come in tomorrow?' Well, no. We're not open tomorrow. But Avondale has these hours, or Salvation Army has these hours,” he said. “So, we're working at different times in different ways and we're able to send people to Avondale at certain times so ultimately, we're all working together to keep our community fed."

Balzer said that if anyone is donating items from their own homes, to check the expiry dates before bringing it to the food drive.

Anyone looking to participate in the community food drive is asked to enter via Huntington Avenue.