Emma

Feeding the Soul: Emma does it well...

One of the highlights of the day here at Winnipeg Harvest is 11:30 AM. Why, you ask. Well, it's lunch time and the kitchen beckons. There's always a lineup, because the food is so good, and to top it off, it's nutritious. The reason why we enjoy lunch time here at Harvest is because Emma is an excellent cook, using her vast cooking experience and a little motherly concern to plan a variety of menus with the food at hand. There are always lots of salads; pasta, leaf lettuce, rice, to name just a few. Along with that one can find chicken fingers, or a wonderful soup, chilli, many types of sandwiches, and there's always plenty of fruit and fresh veggies.

Emma came to Canada from the Philippines and began her working career as a garment worker. It wasn't long before she became a quality control inspector and then moved on to be a floor supervisor. An opportunity came along to work as a cook at Central Park Lodge and Emma took it. She loves working with people and this was a great possibility to do that. Central Park Lodge is where she learned to cook for large groups of people. From there she moved on to the Holiday Inn South, working as a line cook. “The chef there liked what I did.”, says Emma, and so she received a promotion, becoming a sous chef.

Emma speaks fondly of her 25 years at the University of Manitoba. She learned a great deal there, from preparing pastas to pizza to gourmet sandwiches to preparing banquets. After her time at the University, Emma retired. What now, she thought. “After two years at home, wondering what to keep busy with and being bored a great deal, I began to look around for volunteer opportunities. I was at the Baptist Mission one day and someone suggested I check out Winnipeg Harvest.” said Emma with a smile. That was three years ago. She began here at Harvest by working in the sorting department but it wasn't long before her excellent cooking skills were brought to bear in the kitchen. Emma hasn't looked back. She loves her work and loves the people. Her cooking feeds the stomach and her smile feeds the soul.

“If you are retired and bored at home, try Winnipeg Harvest. It's a great place to volunteer.” says Emma. She has a way with folks around here, and says she has incentive to get up in the morning because she knows she is coming to Harvest. “I am treated with love and respect, and there is always someone to go to if I have a problem.”

About Harvest, Emma says “It's a good place with fascinating people. I feel important here and people don't want me to leave. Gary in the Volunteer department has been a great support and rumor has it, David Northcott appreciates what I do here at Harvest. What more could I want.”

Thanks Emma, for being part of the team at Winnipeg Harvest. Lunches will never be the same if you ever leave.
Robb Nickel, June 26, 2008

Moving About the Community Press Release

Just a reminder for all you readers... The Moving About the Community campaign is still going on, and we're looking forward to the purchase of a new cube van. Please read the following media release, and don't hesistate to contact our communications coordinator.

For Immediate Release

In the last year, Winnipeg Harvest has moved 10 million pounds of food.

Puzzled on how it’s done?

WINNIPEG, December 7, 2009 – Winnipeg Harvest needs to replace some of the trucks in its fleet so that it can continue to move food to over 40,000 Manitobans each month. Winnipeg UPS Stores are launching the “Moving About the Community” Campaign on Tuesday, December 8 at The UPS Store at 1400 Ellice Avenue at 1 p.m. The Winnipeg UPS Stores are calling on all businesses or individuals to purchase a portion of a new cube van.

“The warehouse operation at Winnipeg Harvest has 10 trucks on the road six days a week. The trucks transport food to local shelters, soup kitchens, community food banks and children’s programs throughout Manitoba”, states Bruce Michalski, Director of Development at Winnipeg Harvest. “Moving food to people who need it is critical to our daily operations, and our trucks are essential in allowing us to carry forth our mission.”

"The UPS Stores of Winnipeg are working with Winnipeg Harvest to help transport food to the hungry. As a courier service, the Winnipeg UPS Stores understand the importance of distribution in a timely manner, supporting Harvest's mandate to distribute food to those who are hungry”, says Iain Scott of The UPS Store. The UPS Stores of Winnipeg will kick off the campaign with a generous donation for the first piece of the puzzle towards a new truck for food transport.

Donations for the “Moving About the Community Campaign can be made to Winnipeg Harvest at 1085 Winnipeg Avenue or by phone at 982-3673. Winnipeg Harvest is a non-profit community based organization committed to providing food to people who are struggle to feed themselves and their families and continue to work to reduce poverty while continuing to maximize public awareness of hunger.

For more information about Winnipeg Harvest or The UPS Store’s “Moving About the Community” Campaign, please contact:

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Chris Albi
Communications Coordinator
Winnipeg Harvest
(204) 982-3584 work

Closer and Closer!

We're getting so close to our goal!
As of today, we have 627 Facebook Friends, 244 Page Fans, and 110 Twitter followers. Don't stop adding us! Make sure you tell all your friends to add us as a friend or fan on Facebook... Peak of the Market will donate 1,000 pounds of food to our warehouse once we reach 1,000 friends/fans/followers. Let's reach this goal by the end of the month!

Find us on Facebook: Winnipeg Harvest

Find us on Twitter

Bill Adamson

Bill Adamson story “Giant with a gentle heart”


He strikes an imposing figure, this man seated before me. He wears a curly beard with a bit of salt and pepper colouring, and today he is also wearing a “shiner” as he calls it. He explains that his black eye and other bruises are the result of a fall on the weekend on one of his frequent walks. “I'm getting better” he quickly assures me, adding that he was quite sore for a while.

Bill is a veteran of the Winnipeg Harvest “trenches”. He began volunteering here in 1998 and became the self-proclaimed “potatoe man”. He spent his days sorting through thousands of pounds of potatoes, boxing them for the people who came to stock up their pantries. He loved his work with vegetables, making sure that spoiled items were put aside for the compost heap so that recipients didn't have spoiled food to take home to their families. Bill insisted on quality work, because if the job is worth doing it's worth doing well.

Bill arrived in Winnipeg with no intention of staying. He was on his way east, perhaps Toronto, because it was a bigger city with more options for him. He took a room at the Occidental Hotel and began to make contacts around the city. One day, after hearing about Winnipeg Harvest, he decided he would check the place out. He walked in, met Lee Newton who was the volunteer coordinator at that time, and asked her if there was any work he might do. Lee was only too happy to show him around and arrange for him to begin his service at Winnipeg Harvest. As people soon found out, Bill is a friendly guy, but prefers working alone. He says, “You get more work done that way, without all the distractions that can happen at a busy place like this.” Bill and Lee became fast friends over the years, supporting each other in ways that only they could understand.

Bill was born in Vancouver. At the age of 15 he and his parents moved to Seattle, Washington. With a sparkle in his eye, Bill tells me that at age 16 and a half, he joined the U.S. Marines, telling them he was 17. He served for ten years, working as a Military Policeman. His service took him to places like Japan and the Philippines were he escorted prisoners back to the U.S. for trial. Life took Bill to many places all over North America before he arrived in Winnipeg. A lot of that time was spent living from hand to mouth on the streets of various large cities. He loves to hitch-hike, telling many interesting stories of rides he got, especially those in Mexico.

Gratefulness fills his voice as he shares about the many friends he has made here at Winnipeg Harvest. Harvest with its many wonderful people is the reason Bill stayed in Winnipeg. He says, “The people at Harvest went to bat for me”. When he turned 65 and became eligible for pension, Bob and George helped him to find a wonderful apartment and furniture and they even set him up with his own computer. All the while that he volunteered at Harvest, Bill was able to feed himself with hampers from Harvest. Now that he's got a steady income, he is proud to say that he shops for his own groceries, insisting that there are people out there who need the food from Harvest more than he does.

Bill comes to Harvest regularly, stopping in for a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. “I love cherry and pumpkin pie and if I see one of them sitting on the counter, I put it in a bag and take it home to enjoy with a good cup of coffee and a movie.” Bill loves movies, especially the classics. He collects them, going to pawn shops and other places to pick up bargains. He is also hooked on some of the games that are on his computer.

Not long ago, Bill decided to visit friends down east. He stuck out his thumb and three months later he reported back to Winnipeg. He smiles as he talks about going to Toronto, Montreal, Florida, Mexico, California, up to Vancouver and then back to Winnipeg. When he got back, he found out that he had given his friends here quite a scare. Many people around the country had been looking for him. He realized then, how much people here at Harvest care about him. Bill enjoys life and is very grateful for the friends he has made at Winnipeg Harvest. He has a comfortable home and is welcome for a cup of coffee and a piece of pie anytime at Harvest. What could be better?
May 8, 2008 Robb Nickel

Peak of the Market Update

So as an update from yesterday, we're now at 241 Facebook Page Fans and 574 Facebook Friends, bringing our grand total to 815 people who have connected with Winnipeg Harvest.

Keep up the great work Winnipeg! We're almost there :)

Facebook

We just wanted to let all of our readers know that every day we're getting closer and closer to our 1,000 friend mark on Facebook, so keep up the good work. Please spread the word, and tell all of your friends to add us on Facebook.

When we reach the 1,000 friend mark, Peak of the Market will donate 1,000 pounds of food to us. We'll keep you posted on how things are going!

Worth Hayden

Meet Worth Hayden, volunteer order filler at Winnipeg Harvest. Worth is retired from the Department of Natural Resources. He likes to stay active and Winnipeg Harvest provides him with a hands-on opportunity to help the community.

“I really enjoy the people – it’s fun to joke around, but you also end up really caring for the people you work with – it’s like a family.”

Add us on Facebook!

Winnipeg Harvest is having a special Facebook promo:

If we reach 1,000 friends by the end of February, Peak of the Market will donate will donate 1,000 pounds of food to Winnipeg Harvest. Tell all your friends, and we'll see you on Facebook!

Thank You Corey's Computing

(Left to right - George Naugle, Proprietor; Tori Webber, Winnipeg Harvest; Corinne Naugle, Proprietor)

Winnipeg Harvest would like to thank Corey's Computer for raising $1,042.32 in the month of December 2009 to feed the hungry during the cold winter months.

Top 10 Most Wanted

Canned Meat & Fish (tuna and salmon packed in water; chicken or turkey)

Cereal (Plain, Fibre, Non-sugar Coated)
Macaroni and cheese
Dry pasta
Baby food and Formula (Iron-enriched formula; jars of vegetables, fruit or meat; infant cereal - oatmeal, barley or rice)
Canned Soup (vegetable, tomato, lentil, pea)
Canned Fruit & Vegetables (Packed in juice)
Canned stew, chili, brown beans
Peanut Butter - light
Canned Spaghetti Sauce

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Winnipeg Harvest is pleased to announce that our Referrals Co-ordinator, Catherine Wirt has been appointed a seat on the Canada Without Poverty board. Congratulations!!

Operation Donation Food Drive

Welcome to Operation Donation, an annual Winnipeg Harvest food drive led by Winnipeg schools that also sees Manitoba Public Insurance, Peak of the Market and The Manitoba Teachers' Society working together to help replenish Harvest and regional food banks low-stocked shelves.

For more information, please visit the Operation Donation Food Drive website.