A good-natured competition led to a few laughs, and a big score for the Creston Valley Gleaners Society food bank last week.
When Lower Kootenay Band Chief Jason Louie challenged Creston Mayor Ron Toyota last month to collect goods for the food bank, neither knew just what to expect. When Louie arrived at the food bank on Friday, in one of two vehicles needed to transport more than 700 pounds of non-perishable food items, Toyota knew he had met his match.
“Wow, very impressive,” he said, watching box after box stack up. Louie and LKB administrator Linda Berg piled about 15 boxes behind the two boxes Toyota had brought from Creston Town Hall.
“I have one little regret,” Louie said. “I didn’t take the time to decorate our boxes like Ron did. But we had a lot of boxes!”
The food bank challenge was just one of a string of endeavours Louie has undertaken in the last year to help connect the LKB to the Creston Valley community. A spirited floor hockey game between the LKB and the Creston Valley Thunder Cats also helped with the collection of donations. Non-perishable food items were the price of the admission to the game.
“Our staff also donated a month’s worth of money that they usually collect for the office coffee fund,” Louie added.
Louie didn’t arrive with boxes only. He also presented a $1,000 cheque to the food bank, most of which came from a Community Initiatives grant from Regional District of Central Kootenay Area B.
Toyota wasn’t about to stand by and be totally humiliated by his local government counterpart. He wrote out a personal cheque for $500 and turned it over to the food bank.
The competition resulted in a good haul for the food bank. The weight of the boxes totalled more than 717 pounds, a Gleaners representative said. The food, along with $1,500, will be appreciated by local residents in need at this time of year.