As the new chairperson of the Carlyle & District Food Bank, Theresa Luedtke is committed to raising awareness of hunger in area communities and seeking out innovative ways to serve people in need of what she calls: “A hand up, not a hand-out.”
“ There's been a food bank in this area since 1989,” says Luedtke. “And we have a great group of volunteers. The ladies have really welcomed me and it's wonderful working with them.”
“And because they have things so well-organized, we're looking at adding ways to serve people in our area who may need the food bank as well as working with Food Banks of Saskatchewan to ensure we're using our resources in the most efficient way, in order to do the best work we can.”
Since January, Luedtke has produced a newsletter for food bank clients and is in the process of setting up a Facebook page, is actively working on volunteer nights where community groups can help pack hampers and is working with area businesses and liasing with area charitable organizations and Food Banks of Saskatchewan.
In January, the Carlyle & District Food Bank distributed 42 hampers to area individuals and families in need. These hampers fed 123 people, 62 adults and 61 children. In February, the food bank supplied persons in need with 52 hampers- 101 adults and 113 children.
“These figures tell the story and I can say that there's an ongoing need for the food bank in our area,” says Luedtke.
“The food bank will be open in July and August,” she says. “Because even though food drives are popular around Christmastime and Thanksgiving, the need is year-round- and we provide hampers each and every month.”
“We already have donations of fresh produce lined up- and we welcome more. I know with my own garden, there's a lot more food than our family will ever use, so the food bank is a great place to donate.”
“We are also accepting donations of reusable cloth grocery bags.”
“The committee have also started a pilot project that we're really excited about,” she adds. “We surveyed our clients- with a simple 'yes' or 'no' question asking them whether they'd like to try growing their own produce. So far, we've got 12 families lined up with seeds and we're eventually hoping to have them planting lettuce, onions, cucumbers, corn, potatoes, carrots, peas, tomatoes and more.”
Luedtke says projects like this are also meant to empower clients to maximize the nutritional value of the food they receive in their hampers.
“For example, with chickpeas, we included recipes and instructions on what to do with them in our client newsletter.”
“It's a simple, useful thing to do, but it also allows me to introduce myself to clients and have a conversation with them.”
Luedtke says raising community awareness about the food bank's work is always a priority.
“We've steamlined our systems around packing hampers, so we're able to welcome groups to our space (in the Carlyle United Church) to help us pack hampers on Tuesdays. Pick-up day for clients is the third Wednesday of each month and our core group of volunteers will add perishable items then and distribute hampers to clients, but the Tuesday volunteer sessions not only allow groups to help out our volunteers- but they also give visiting groups the opportunity to learn about the food bank and to generally gain awareness about hunger in our area communities.
“The Arcola Girl Guides are our first group and before every visiting volunteer session, I will be giving a little five to 10-minute talk about the food bank and what we do.”
“Part of working with young people especially is that we have the chance to inform and educate the next generation,” says Luedtke. “We're also reaching out to schools and other charitable organizations- both to ensure that people in need of the food bank are receiving food and to work with other food banks and charities to make sure we're making the best and most efficient use of our resources.”
“And locally, we're very grateful to individuals, organizations and businesses for their support of the food bank,” she says. “We couldn't do what we do wihout their support and I'm excited to work with them on some of the food bank's new initiatives.”
“One thing we're working on right now with Southern Plains Co-op in Carlyle is putting signage on the shelves beside items the food bank may be short of for a particular month,” explains Luedtke. “(Manager) Derrick Edwards was right behind this idea and it's an easy, cost-effective way to remind shoppers of the food bank and its needs.”
“It all helps to get the word out,” she says.
Luedtke draws on her background in communications and public relations in her new volunteer role.
“Before we moved here in 2000, I worked for Imperial Oil in Calgary in various departments- including marketing and PR,” she says. “And as a volunteer, I've worked with the United Way, school boards and church committees.”
“When my husband Kelvin and I moved back to the family farm with our daughters (Sarah and Maria), it was a deliberate decision and it had a lot to do with the lifestyle and values we wanted our daughters to grow up with.”
“Now the girls are off to university and I'm ready for a new challenge,” says Luedtke. “We've been so blessed in our home life and living here that I wanted to give back. I think that's so important- whether it's joining a service organization, doing something in your church, whatever...”
“One of the things I've already seen while working in the food bank is people who pick up their hamper and say something like: 'I'm hoping this is my last hamper. I've got a job and as soon as I'm on my feet, I'll be back to help like I was helped,'” she says.
“As a food bank, we're trying to do more than hampers every month, because we can. If we can help people help themselves, then that's what we want to do.”
The Carlyle & District Food Bank is located in the basement of the Carlyle United Church. Cash donations are tax-deductible and can be mailed to: Carlyle & District Food Bank, P.O. Box 356, Carlyle, Sask. S0C 0R0.
For all other inquiries, contact: Theresa Luedtke at (306)-577-8928 or Darlene Burnett at (306)-453-2267.
