Ailsa Craig & Area Food Bank & Thrift Store
About Us
The Ailsa Craig & Area Food Bank & Thrift Store is a registered Christian Charitable Organization dedicated to meeting the following needs:
Providing a monthly food hamper to individuals and families facing financial hardship
Maintaining and enhancing recipient comfort and self-esteem
Offering quality, affordable, gently used thrift store items
Promoting and encouraging commitment to God's Word, way and church
Food bank eligibility is based on proof of:
income
local residency
number of people in household
Food is distributed according to geographic need as determined by stats collected. To give fair access to food for all who have need "double dipping" or obtaining assistance from more than one food bank is not permitted. Adjacent area food banks do quarterly consultations to eliminate this problem.
A Blessing For All...
The Thrift Store is an important part of our ministry. Revenue generated from store sales cover operational expenses. Tax receipts are available for monetary and item donations. You can shop for a variety of quality, affordable gently used items such as clothing, accessories, toys, knick-knacks, books, cd's, dvd's, furniture, housewares and sports & camping equipment to name a few. If you are looking for something specific, don't hesitate to ask.
Further Outreach:
food bank recipients receive a Thrift Store Gift Certificate on odd months
furniture can be provided in emergency situations
excess clothing and other items are donated to various charities
we participate in emergency relief on a world-wide basis when disaster strikes
we serve as a collection point for area fire victims
Benevolent Fund:
Ten percent of store sales are placed in a separate account. One thousand dollars is held in reserve for support of area fire victims. The remainder is given out on a priority basis for the special needs of...
food bank recipients
community needs
emergency relief
healthcare - prevention, promotion & research
To Those In Need...
The community of churches, service club, schools, business and individual donors enable us to provide assistance. Local volunteer fire departments and Lions clubs are vital in the operation as they organize and conduct annual Christmas and spring food drives which accounts for approximately half of our food supply. We appreciate all who are able to support our work. Please contact us if your are aware of anyone in need. Confidentiality is assured.
Food Hampers:
size is based on the number of people per household (single, couple, family)
contains non-perishable food based on a standard list
considers special diet needs (baby, diabetic)
is equivalent to approximately ten day supply of groceries
can be delivered upon request if transportation is an issue
may contain produce and frozen meat when available
Cash donations allow us to purchase grocery store vouchers for milk, margarine, eggs, bread and other fresh food or items we are short on. TAX RECEIPTS ARE AVAILABLE.
Our Service Area
We service all communities within the heavy red outlined area on the map below. This includes all of the Township of Lucan Biddulph, the Municipality of Middlesex Centre and the Municipality of North Middlesex. We also serve approximately half of the Municipality of Lambton Shores covering the communities in the eastern side. Those communities served within Lambton Shores include Arkona, Grand Bend, Northville, Port Franks & Thedford. If you are uncertain that you are within our service area please call or email for confirmation. If you are not in our service area we will direct you to a food bank that does cover your community.
Our Board of Directors
Alec Sumner (Board Chair)
Alec grew up on a farm in Middlesex county and has been involved in agriculture all his life. He currently lives on the home farm with his wife Tina. They have four married children and six grandchildren. He manages the broiler chicken side of a large family farm which also has a large cash crop operation. He has been employed on this farm for forty plus years. He has also been active in the church for many years serving in various roles. Alec has been a part of the Ailsa Craig and Area Foodbank since 2009.
Andrew McLean (Vice President/Treasurer)
Jan Watt (Secretary)
Jan Watt earned a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Western Ontario, and is a qualified counsellor, holding certification in CTRT, a behaviour management technique. After her retirement as a Food Service Supervisor in a senior’s residence, she combined her love of travelling with her desire to “give back” by making yearly trips to the mountains of Nicaragua, where she teaches nutrition and sanitary cooking practises in schools and to local women’s groups. Jan belongs to a number of community and church organizations, and holds executive positions in most of them. She is the mother of 3 and the proud grandmother of 5.
Jan joined the Board of the Ailsa Craig Food Bank in 2003, and has been serving as Board Secretary since 2005.
Colleen Pavlech
Colleen Pavlech joined the Ailsa Craig and Area Food Bank Board in 2016. She has a keen interest in her community and enjoys volunteering when possible. She became involved because she wanted to learn more about the work of the Food Bank and to give back to her community. She hopes that she will be able to help to make a positive difference.
Colleen retired from Community Living where she worked as a volunteer co-ordinator. She enjoys working with people and was involved for many years with the volunteers at the Ailsa Craig and Area Quilt Festival.
She is a spinner and weaver and enjoys gardening.
Colleen and her husband Joseph live in Ailsa Craig. They have 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren.
Marilyn Bax
Ian MacDonald
Ian grew up in Thunder Bay, did his BSc ('68) in Biophysics at Western and PhD at the University of London. He did research and teaching at Western until his retirement in 2010. Ian has been breeding and showing Irish Terriers for nearly 30 years and lives on ten acres between Lobo and Poplar Hill. Ian is recording secretary of the Poplar Hill Lions, serves on the Hillbilly Float and Barbeque committees and has Ontario food handling certification. Through the Lions club he became involved as a volunteer at the Food bank in 2017 where his main contribution has been transportation, sorting and storage of food donations. Ian accepted a position on the board of the ACAFBTS in 2020.