For Karen McDade, the past nine years of her life have been spent making sure the city of St. Thomas does not go without.
As the general manager of the St. Thomas Elgin Food Bank, McDade says her journey with the organization started as most do, as a volunteer.
With the residents of St. Thomas and Elgin always the top priority of the food bank, McDade points to the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the biggest challenges she has faced during her time as general manager.
She says they never closed their doors but, instead, had to find other ways of doing things.
They have been up and running smoothly at their new facility, located upstairs in the Royal Canadian Legion hall in St. Thomas but, thinking back, McDade says that may have been the biggest challenge to date.
Day in and day out, McDade deals with the most vulnerable in our community, those facing food insecurity. McDade says as someone in this role, you have to approach every interaction with kindness and compassion.
She adds all aspects of the job, including book keeping, paper work and even the physical labour can be a lot of work, but the people of St. Thomas and Elgin rely on you.
Our extended interview with Karen McDade can be heard below…
