CORNWALL, Ontario – An apple a day won’t keep poverty away – but a few hundred pounds collected by St. Lawrence College students at Pommier Square on Wednesday will help the Agape Centre feed the hungry.
SLC students in the ‘Community Integration through Co-operative Education’ (CICE) program spent the afternoon collecting MacIntosh, Spartans, and Courtlands (to name a few), as part of their field placement at the corner of Pitt and Second streets.
“Hopefully this raises awareness that the Agape is welcoming fresh foods for donations,” said Victoria Workman, professor at St. Lawrence College. “We’re definintely impressed by the community’s generosity. We also thank the Pommiers for allowing us to use this beautiful downtown venue.”
Next week, the inaugural ‘Fall Apple Drive’ group will be bagging the donations for the food bank and prepping some for freezing to be used in the soup kitchen over the winter.
Bayshore Home Health held an apple drive within their offices, resulting in a 76-pound donation. CIBC, Masonic Lodge, Baxtrom’s YIG, and No Frills also made donations. Cornwallites supported the cause, too.
“I give clothes to the Agape all the time, but these apples will also help a lot of people, too,” said Kim Lavigne. “It’s the biggest food bank in the city.”
Before the event wrapped up around 5 p.m., Maryse Pommier, co-owner of Pommier Jewellers, and Rachel Saucier, sales associate, threw another bag on top of the heaping pile crammed inside the Agape donation bin.
“This (Pommier Square) is for the community,” said Maryse. “It’s also important for us to help out, because it’s an apple drive…and were the Pommiers.”
CICE is a two-year certificate designed for adults who wish to further their educational/vocational training in a community setting. This is the first year CICE is offered at the college’s Cornwall campus. A fundamental aspect of the program is community placement.
“This project is a wonderful opportunity for our students to further develop and practice workplace skills while at the same time raising awareness and empathy for others,” said Workman.
Kendra Smith, volunteer coordinator at the Agape Centre, says the local food bank and soup kitchen is thrilled to partner with the college for the food-raising event.
“People love getting fresh treats like apples in their food bags,” said Smith. “We won’t have any problem using up all of the fruit donated – either giving them away in grocery bags, or processing them to use in the soup kitchen.”
The Agape Centre is the largest food bank and soup kitchen program in Cornwall that provides food and clothing to more than 1,000 people each month. The non-profit organization relies on the support from the community through donations of time, food, money, clothing and other household items in order to run its services.
For more information about the Agape Centre, visit agapecentre.ca.
