A story in the Trail Times last Thursday, reporting a broken freezer and the loss of $1,000 worth of meat and milk products at Kate’s Kitchen, has brought out the best in the community.
The breakdown of a meat freezer at the well-known local charity over the weekend of July 20-21, had the volunteer staff worried about how they would continue serving up lunches for dozens of less fortunate citizens in Trail every weekday.
In response to the predicament, four new freezers have been donated to the local Salvation Army soup kitchen along with meat, poultry and fish, and $400 cash to replace the spoiled goods.
“The phone started ringing Thursday afternoon from citizens wanting to help,” said Linda Radtke, manager at the Rossland Avenue locale.
“It bring tears to my eyes when a community bands together to help when something like this happens.”
Radtke said the broken appliance was one of a number of freezers used by the kitchen that are all of about the same vintage but unfortunately was the one that held the food of the highest value and most damaged by thawing.
Each week, at least 200 lunches are served out of Kate’s Kitchen, and Radtke and volunteers try their best to include a serving of meat in each meal.
Additionally, each month the Salvation Army food bank, located in the rear of the soup kitchen, supplies at least 400 families in need with food hampers that contain a meat protein, if available.
On Tuesday, a person brought in a large turkey, a welcome donation to help fill the new freezers.
“I cannot thank the community enough,” said Radtke.
“It makes me proud to say that I live in Trail. People have just been so good to us.”
As the saying goes, there is always one rotten apple in the bunch, and in this case, it was a person who dropped off two very old, broken, rusty, filthy freezers into the side alley between Kate’s Kitchen and the Rex Hotel on Sunday.
Now, the volunteers at the soup kitchen are asking for a Good Samaritan to pick them up and bring them to the landfill for proper disposal.
Radtke called the regional district and was told they would dispose of them at no charge but someone needs to transport them to the landfill.
To assist Kate’s Kitchen remove the useless freezers from the alley or to make a donation, contact Radtke at 364-0445.