Helping Hand

St. Augustine of Canterbury, along with St. Cuthbert, Leaside, support Flemingdon Park Community Food Bank by delivering food collected at their local grocery story. During the pandemic, church members noticed that as food prices increased, the donations at the grocery store dropped off significantly. The food bank also reached out to the churches, as the need for food had increased due to inflation and new arrivals from Afghanistan and Ukraine. In response, two anonymous donors at St. Augustine’s offered $2,000 in matching grants to start a financial campaign. The church set a goal to raise $4,000 between Easter and Pentecost. It exceeded its goal, raising over $5,000, which was given directly to the food bank so it could buy food at wholesale prices. Pictured are the Rev. Megan Jull and parishioners Peter Shepard and Trish Simmie presenting the cheque to food bank representatives Chadi Abedalrazek (second from left) and another food bank representative on June 5.