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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 26, 2007 - 17 Filling empty tummies when ends don't meet Continued from page 10 call 905-845-8014 in the evenings. Volunteers are also needed for food sorting sessions. The first such session is Sunday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. at the food bank and people are welcome to just show up. Money, too, is always needed and is used throughout the year to purchase the perishable food clients need -- meats, cheese, milk, fresh fruit. Some of it, the food bank buys, but much of it is bought at local grocery stores by clients who are given vouchers from Fareshare. And, despite it being Thanksgiving, it's not necessarily turkeys that are the order of the day for the food bank, but rather the dry goods, non-perishable items that it will stock up and give to clients all year. Here's the shopping list: canned fruit, canned vegetables (except corn), canned tomatoes, instant coffee, canned stew, canned pasta, baby and junior foods and desserts. Throughout the food drive, food can be dropped off at the food bank between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday to Saturday; at all Oakville fire stations; at all local supermarkets, in bins provided by Fareshare, and in the paper food drive bags handed out at the Real Canadian Superstore. Money will also be accepted and cheques can be mailed or dropped off at the food bank, while cash donations can also be made at the Real Canadian Superstore. "We are constantly up against the ongoing observation from some members of the public that Oakville is an affluent town and there are no poor people here," said Clarke. "That's true to a degree in that there are fewer poor people here than in other communities, but the fact is the people here who need help, need as much help as those in the poorest of areas," said Clarke. Over the past year, Clarke set about drawing Oakville statistics from the Who's Hungry 2007 Profile of Hunger in the GTA that was compiled by the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto. Oakville clients were interviewed as part of the survey and Clarke said enough of them were interviewed to provide valid survey results. According to that, most food bank users have been going to the food bank more than two years. Most ­ 60 per cent -- are those who have at least one person working, many of the adults go hungry at least once a week, don't get enough food from the monthly food bank visit and don't get foods thought to be "healthy." The local statistics also indicate half of the food bank clients are children, most of the families are headed by single parents and many are immigrants. "There's no doubt about it, the food bank is becoming, more and more, a shelter for the working poor," said Clarke who looks to issues like minimum wage and affordable accommodation as contributors to poverty. No one would be at the food bank if they didn't have to be, maintains Clarke, noting many clients are the working poor who are simply falling short. "We're not feeding anyone day in, day out. We're just helping them make ends meet," said Clarke. "It's Thanksgiving, but what we're really talking about is something we're doing 12 months of the year, day in and day out." Dudley Clarke, Fareshare Food Bank When clients visit the food bank -- they are allowed to do so only once a month, so they are not by any stretch receiving all their groceries from there -- they are given a quantity of standard items based on family numbers. They visit after proving their financial need and in addition to the staples, are given a shopping list of additional items from which they can choose. A major supporter of Fareshare is the Canadian Autoworkers' Union (CAW) Local 707 out of the Oakville Ford plant. The local recently participated in a food drive that saw Ford around the world giving back to local communities. It collected lots of food and about $4,000, which Clarke said was used to buy items running short at the food bank. Though the drive was held earlier this month, the local will also participate in the Thanksgiving food drive as is its tradition, said Clarke, noting the local designates Fareshare as a recipient of cash from the CAW's Social Justice Fund annually. At Fareshare, food and other necessities, sit neatly on shelves waiting to fill an empty tummy in a home where often a gap in making ends meet drives its occupants to visit the food bank. Vouchers redeemable at local grocery stores are then handed out for perishables like meat, milk and fresh fruit. "It's Thanksgiving, but what we're really talking about is something we're doing 12 months of the year, day in and day out," said Clarke. To donate, visit Fareshare at 1240 Speers Rd., Unit 6 or call 905-847-3988. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER HELPING HAND: Fareshare Food Bank volunteer John Adrian sorts donations. 1 Anniversary OPEN HOUSE September 29, 2007 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. · Attend our FREE demonstration on choosing and using the right back pack (Saturday: 10:00 A.M. & 1:00 P.M.) st OSTEOARTHRITIS PAIN? New Treatment Combines Sound Pressure Waves and Exercise in Warm Water for Pain Relief · · · Win an OBUS FORME back pack Tour the clinic Light refreshments available Can't make it to our open house? Our doors are always open. BRONTE HARBOUR CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC 2290 Lakeshore Rd. West (Lakeshore and East St.) Oakville, Ontario L6L 1H3 AquaSonix Therapy is the new treatment program combining sound pressure waves and low impact exercise in warm water therapy pools for the relief of pain and to improve flexibility and mobility. The course of therapy is 15 treatment sessions. 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