Oromocto Food Bank
Oromocto Food Bank- Helping Families Get Back on Their Feet
In 1998 my husband and I wed, both of us had full time jobs that we loved. Shortly after our marriage, my husband developed blood clots. In 1999 I became pregnant with our first child. I became very sick with Hyperemesis Gravidarum and was hospitalized for most of my pregnancy, causing me to be unable to work. Shortly after my sons birth, I knew something was wrong with him. After many trips to the doctor he was diagnosed with Autism, I was devastated. During this time my husband developed another blood clot, was hospitalized again and was diagnosed with a blood clotting disease called Factor 5. I became pregnant again but soon lost the baby. My husband was sick, I had a toddler with Autism and I had just lost a baby.
It was during this time that I turned to the Oromocto Food Bank for help. I was very scared about going for the first time as I thought they would look down on us but it was totally the other way. The lady gave us phone numbers for support groups, she offered great advice, diapers and food for the baby and they even gave me a couch! I went in the food bank with my head held low and I walked out of there with my head held high.
In 2002 my husband was hospitalized again and was diagnosed with another serious illness. I delivered my second son Dec. 19th, 2002; he was 4lbs 12oz. He had major feeding problems and has been on a feeding tube several times. He has been diagnosed with Failure to Thrive, Global Developmental Delays, Autism (like his older brother) and Microfelia. He receives therapy 4 days a week, wears glasses, has braces on both legs and we often travel to the Saint John Regional Hospital and the IWK in Halifax.
Without the Oromocto Food Bank, my family would not have found the services out there for my children. They have not just given us food but they have also made Christmas for our children, set up contacts for support groups, helped us find funding for traveling to the IWK, given us furniture and they have even helped with school supplies for my oldest son. My husband is able to work now and things are finally starting to look up for us. The Oromocto Food Bank played a major part in getting us on our feet again. I would like to thank all those that support the Oromocto Food Bank-you have all touched MY family and helped give my family a better life.
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Our success story involves a single mother of three. I will call her Judy as she really didn’t want me to use her real name, but did want her story out there so that other people could see that when you lose all hope there can still be a light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to keep searching. She came to us beaten down, wanting to know if we could help her feed her children. In talking with Judy I realized lot more lay deep inside this lady, she just needed someone to point her in the right direction. We set her up with food that day and made arrangements for her to come back in to see what her next move should be.
Talking to her, I found out she hadn’t work in over twenty years, so that was the first thing we looked at. She had done office work in the past, but she needed to upgrade her skill with computers. We told her we would help her out with this as much as possible. She was so excited that she left the office and immediately went looking for a friend that had a computer. They sat down and did some work on Excel and WordPerfect. When Judy came back to the office, I was very excited that she took that kind of initiative. I knew she was serious about bettering her life. Together, we began making calls and touching base with all the organizations that could help her move forward with her education.
Currently, everything isn’t perfect for Judy, but it’s certainly an encouraging work in progress. Judy is taking computer courses and volunteering at a non-profit organization that will get her ready for the work force. The changes I have seen in this family over the past few months have been amazing.
I was asked to write a reference letter for Judy to help her get into school. I was honoured that she would choose me to write this on her behalf. I see nothing but good things happening for this family, and we are very proud to have been a part of it.
Bernice Mackinnon
Coordinator
Oromocto Food Bank
506-357-3461
Monies provided to us by the United Way are crucial to our operations. The boxes of food we hand out to families have an average value of approximately $70.00. Without the United Way funds, we would be unable to purchase and include perishable items such as milk, butter, and bread
