Residents in three communities peered out their windows searching for the flashing lights of fire trucks driving down their street early last week.
They watched for firefighters venturing door-to-door on almost every street in Longview and Turner Valley the evening of Nov. 9 and Black Diamond on Nov. 10 collecting non-perishable food items for the Oilfields Food Bank to help those struggling financially.
Among them was Aaron Lyons, district deputy fire chief for the Foothills Fire Department Longview station, who has taken part in the annual food drive for more than a decade.
“A lot of them have everything ready to go and hand it to us and carry on,” he said. “They have everything boxed up and bagged up. To me it’s incredible how much the village of Longview donates.”
As with every year, several residents opened their doors during the hour and a half the firefighters were on the streets of Longview, said Lyons.
“We got toiletries, canned food, everything,” he said. “This year was maybe a little bit lower because of the tough economic times, but even still it was surprising. It was more than we thought it would be.”
The firefighters were joined by youth and their parents collecting bottles for the village’s youth program, in addition to the food items.
“They are pretty used to us now,” Lyons said of the public. “We try to spread the word in our newsletter and it’s posted in the office usually. Some of them forget about it or don’t know, but the majority know.”
Lyons said it’s a cause that means a lot to the fire department.
“I think we all think it’s a worthy cause to help out within the communities for people who are maybe in more need than others this time of year,” he said. “I don’t think we really think twice about it.”
The donations brought in by the three fire departments are expected to meet this year’s demand for hampers, both weekly and at Christmas time, said Glenn Chambers, president of the Oilfields Food Bank.
The food bank typically prepares six to 12 hampers weekly and another 100 at Christmas, he said.
“There’s certainly more food than we have had in the past,” he said. “The food bank is really in good shape right now. A lot of it is due to the fact that the communities are growing. We’re really grateful for the communities of Longview, Black Diamond and Turner Valley for their generous contributions.”
Chambers said the Oilfields Food Bank often swaps items it has in excess with those it needs. Any extras will be donated to nearby food banks experiencing a shortage due to its bank’s lack of storage space, he said.
“We try to make sure the food that gets donated in the community stays in the community, but we are a small food bank and we are getting more food than we can handle,” he said. “We don’t have the capacity to store all that.”
In addition to receiving food items, Chambers said the food bank received about $3,000 in cash and cheques during the two nights.
The money will help pay for perishable foods like fruits, vegetables and dairy products for the weekly hampers, as well as for those distributed just before Christmas, said Chambers.
“That’s one of the reasons we do it in November is it helps us meet our commitment to fill our Christmas hampers,” he said.
The firefighters received assistance from spouses, scouts groups, members of the Lewis Memorial United Church – where the food bank is located – and other volunteers who helped unload the food after it was collected.
Turner Valley’s deputy fire chief Deanna Hintze found people were very generous this year.
“We get folks who have stuff waiting by their door on the porch to folks who don’t know it’s happening, even though we do everything we can to get the message out there, and go quickly into their pantries and grab something,” she said.
Hintze said it’s become a tradition for the fire departments, something they’ve been doing for about 15 years.
“It’s something we can do to give back to the community,” she said. “There’s lots of causes that are close to our hearts.
“This is one that we can impact directly. It services all of the local communities right here and we know there is lots of folks in the community who need it.”
Those requiring food hampers can contact Glenn or Sharon Chambers at 403-933-2646 or visit the Lewis Memorial United Church in Turner Valley on Tuesdays.
Christmas hampers will be distributed on Dec. 16.
