Ian Thompson and Sarah Valiquette-Thompson are amazed when they think about the beginnings of their Feed a Friend/Feed a Family program and how far it has come.
The owners of R Cottage in Washago started the initiative in March, after a woman entered their restaurant and said she wanted to pay for a meal to be provided to a family in need.
That led to various businesses and individuals offering to sponsor meals and, as of Thursday, more than 500 people had benefited from the program.
“It just kind of snowballed. We got to the point where the need was greater than what we had available,” said Valiquette-Thompson.
Officials with Youth Haven and The Sharing Place Food Centre have been delivering the R Cottage meals to residents in need, as had Thompson and Valiquette-Thompson, but the restaurant owners have been receiving an increasing number of calls from people who would like to have meals dropped off for their elderly family members.
To help keep up with the demand, they put a call out for volunteer drivers. More than 20 have stepped up.
“So many people have said they’d help,” Valiquette-Thompson said. “We have enough drivers now. We just need to be able to fund it.”
That’s why they have launched a GoFundMe account, which, as of Thursday afternoon, had raised $1,260.
“It keeps the program alive, and we want to keep going as long as we can,” Valiquette-Thompson said.
Donations to the GoFundMe account can be made here.
R Cottage is also encouraging anyone who knows of someone in Orillia and area who is in need of a fresh, chef-made meal to email [email protected].
The cost to sponsor is $15 for an individual meal and $45 for a family meal.
The husband-and-wife team did not expect the program to take off like it has, but they’re happy with the result.
“We’re extremely humbled with the amount of people who have reached out and how much the community has come together, from farmers and businesses to organizations,” Thompson said.
It’s been an eye-opening experience, added the chef, who has been delivering meals to seniors and others in need.
“One of the nicest things is the interaction that we have with them. Selfishly, it takes my mind off everything that’s going on, but it also gives them a moment with somebody, and a lot of them are lonely,” Thompson said.
The program began as a way to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it will likely keep going once the pandemic is over.
Sharing Place executive director Chris Peacock was speaking with Valiquette-Thompson and mused about the possibility of maintaining the program.
“Why not?” Valiquette-Thompson said. “That’s what this has shined a light on. If we can work together and this program can continue, why not?”
Thompson thanked everyone who “has been a part of this and has reached out in any capacity.”
