‘I guess it’s all about giving back’
Family’s cupboards were bare before the Empty Stocking Fund and Logan Lake Food Bank stepped in
Sheri Nowick didn’t know what to do.
She looked in the fridge and it was empty. She looked in the cupboards and they were bare.
She thought: Where was the next meal going to come from?
Nowick wasn’t so much worried about herself and her husband Jim. She was really concerned about her 14-yearold daughter Sam, who has special needs with high-functioning autism and learning disabilities.
“It was scary,” Sheri said. But then Nowick remembered seeing something on a local Facebook group about her community of Logan Lake. It referred to the local food bank in the mining community located southwest of Kamloops in the Thompson-Nicola region.
She took a deep breath and put her pride aside. She phoned the number and talked to Kristina Froment, head co-ordinator.
Even though they were closing for the day, Froment invited the Nowicks down to the food bank. They sent them home with groceries.
“It was just amazing to go from having absolutely nothing to making dinner that night, and making dinner the next night,” Sheri recalled.
“They said: ‘Come back the next week and we’ll give you more.’ That’s how we survived for months.”
The Nowick family had never been in dire straits like that before.
When the couple lived in Coquitlam, they would help other families in need by packing and delivering Christmas hampers.
Four years ago, Sheri decided to leave her job and home-school Sam.
After moving to Logan Lake, Jim had a series of strokes that left him unable to work. His recovery exhausted his medical employment insurance. The couple started to fall behind on their bills.
Last year, their financial difficulties meant the approach of Christmas weighed heavily on the family.
Panic was setting in as Dec. 25 approached, said Sheri.
When they were asked if they wanted to sign up for a Christmas hamper, Nowick said she felt like her prayers had been answered.
Their hamper included a turkey and everything needed for a Christmas dinner, including cranberry jelly and apple and pumpkin pies.
Her daughter Sam got a gift of an artist’s kit of crayons, pencils and paint in a wooden case.
A donation from the Empty Stocking Fund played a big role in covering the cost of Christmas hampers for families like the Nowicks in Logan Lake.
“Without the Empty Stocking Fund, things like the Logan Lake Food Bank would struggle,” Sheri said. “What you guys do is phenomenal. I guess it’s all about giving back.”
The Empty Stocking Fund is now celebrating its 100th year.
Froment said the Logan Lake Food Bank cares for about 30 households a week.
Of the $3,000 the food bank spent on buying food and treats for the Christmas hampers last year, the Empty Stocking Fund provided $1,600.
She said the fund’s contribution is incredibly important to the food bank’s Christmas hamper program.
“Without that, we would have been paying out of operating funds, which is fairly small for a food bank of our size,” she said.
“We have a lot of people in the community who just need help at Christmas, not necessarily throughout the year. It’s nice to give them a helping hand.”
It was just amazing to go from having absolutely nothing to making dinner that night ...”
Sheri Nowick