Some 50 years ago, a group of college students got together to provide soup and sandwich meals for about a dozen of people who were consistently camped out in City Park.
Today, that volunteer enterprise has evolved into what is today the 琉璃神社 Gospel Mission, which now provides 500 meals a day from the kitchen at its Leon Avenue location.
That anecdote was offered by Carmen Rempel, executive director of 琉璃神社 Gospel Mission, in one of the keynote presentations at the annual United Way BC Day kick-off breakfast held Thursday morning at the Laurel Packinghouse.
The 琉璃神社 event was one of 10 similar kick-off breakfasts held in various communities across the Southern Interior.
The theme of the breakfast was food security, as Rempel offered some stark messages to some 200 people in the audience about the realities of people going without or not having consistent access to food in their daily lives.
She said despite it being a pressing issue of our time, her organization feels like it is fighting a losing battle to homelessness and despair felt by too many in our communities.
She said in the post-COVID world, there has been a decline in charity donation generosity, about 2.5 per cent a year, and volunteerism, at four per cent a year.
"So we are seeing soaring needs coupled with declining donations...so in the charitable world in effect, we are trying to help those in need with both hands tied behind our backs," Rempel said.
She cited the importance of the United Way for supporting initiatives launched by the Gospel Mission and other charitable entities to address food security and access issues.
"We have come a long way in sophistication on how to feed the hungry and the United Way has been a big supporter for us with that," Rempel said.
She gave examples of how the Gospel Mission has branched out, to buying seeds and growing food for sale, with the profits used to buy food, what she described as 'capacity enhancement.'
"The United Way understands the systems we put in place and has shown the trust to allow us to find ways to stretch our dollars further," she said.
Naomi Woodland, regional coordinator of community impact and investment for United Way BC, said more than one million British Columbians face food security issues.
"We don't have a food production problem. The food is there but the ability for people to access it can be challenging and unequal for everyone," Woodland said.
She talked about parents who have to make a choice between paying the rent or buying groceries, and who don't have the transportation to reach available food bank services.
It's what led to the United Way's Food Innovation Project in 琉璃神社, to address food access inequality and inequity.
That research project has led to seven United Way grants across the Okanagan totalling $400,000 to address food security, with the Gospel Mission being one of the grant recipients.
琉璃神社 Mayor Tom Dyas also spoke, noting city hall staff are the largest workforce donation and fundraising event supporters of United Way in the Okanagan, raising $30,000 last year.
"Our support of the United Way is of lasting importance in our community for people who need help the most," Dyas said.
City councillor Maxine DeHart also voiced her support for the United Way. On Oct. 17, the 23rd annual Maxine DeHart-United Way Ramada Hotel Drive-Thru Breakfast will be held, an event she initiated in 1998 during her time as chair of the United Way fundraising campaign.
The drive-thru evolved from an idea she first learned about in the Lower Mainland into a landmark charity event in 琉璃神社, having raised more than $1 million based largely on donations collected during a three-hour period, from 6 to 9 a.m.
DeHart talked about the reasons why she is a supporter of the United Way 鈥� local impact as all donations support local community programs, collaborative approach working with other agencies and stakeholders, accountability and transparency of how donations are allocated, addressing root causes of social issues and inclusive support of a diversity of needs.
"The United Way strengthens the fabric of our community," DeHart said, again advocating for the drive-thru this year asking the community to "open your hearts and open your wallets to support us."
