Paramedics organizing huge donation to Soup Kitchen Community Centre

A Toronto-based charity is delivering thousands of pounds of food to be delivered to the Soup Kitchen Community Centre on Thursday as a thank you to a local paramedic who volunteered her time in Ukraine.

Hilary Sadowsky is a 13-year veteran of the Sault Ste. Marie Paramedic Services. In June and July of this year she flew to Romania with GlobalMedic, an organization that provides short-term, rapid response during disasters at home and abroad. 

“We were based in Romania, primarily doing food aid for refugees and internally displaced people who were impacted by the war. We were lucky enough to cross the border into Ukraine to help distribute the food, as well,” said Sadowsky.

The area Sadowsky served in was far from the fighting, but she said there were still signs of war.

“There were sandbags everywhere and gunner stations and military checkpoints — but at the same time we drove past fields that looked like the prairies or southern Ontario and forested areas that looked just like Sault Ste. Marie,” said Sadowsky. “There were signs there was an active conflict, but you could close your eyes and open them up and it’s just like you’re in Sault Ste. Marie — people are just carrying on.” 

The deployment was an impactful experience for her.

“I was particularly drawn to this deployment because I have Ukrainian ancestry,” said Sadowsky. “It was nice to say to people that the Ukrainian Canadians are very much paying attention to what is going on and we support you.”

After she returned to the Sault, GlobalMedic reached out to Sadowsky to ask if it could make its first-ever food donation to the local Soup Kitchen Community Centre.

Reached by phone, GlobalMedic executive director Rahul Singh said hundreds of pounds will be delivered to the Sault in bulk and repackaged by local volunteers.

“I’d say Sault Ste. Marie bounced to the top of our radar because of Hilary and her work and the fact she volunteers with us,” said Singh. 

“We think the world of her and we wanted to come into the community she serves as a paramedic and help that broader community, as well. Hilary went halfway across the world to help families in need in a war zone and then every day she answers 911 calls in the Sault and helps patients and their families there,” he added.

Barley, red lentils, green lentils, kidney beans, peas, chick peas and rice will be delivered in bulk to Harvest Algoma and repackaged during an all-day pack-a-thon event Thursday. From there it will be delivered to the Soup Kitchen Community Centre by ambulance.

Singh said the organization has been offering the same service in southern Ontario for years with great success.

“Because we are buying in bulk and volunteers are repackaging, we crush the price. We actually produce these for about one quarter of what a food bank would have to pay retail for them,” he said.

Ron Sim, general manager of the Soup Kitchen Community Centre, said the donated food will be used for making meals, as well as distributed to people and organizations in need.

“And it’s going to be a very healthy kind of food because a lot of it is going to be beans and lentils and all of the really good dried products people can use and put in their pantry,” said Sim.

As food prices have been going up, so has the need seen at the Soup Kitchen. Sim said the number of people being served has been getting close to 200 per day, a number not seen for about 20 months.

“Every time you go to the grocery store everything is up 10, 20 or 30 cents more per item. Anybody on a fixed income can’t afford it,” said Sim. “[This food] will actually add to what they are already able to afford, with the price of everything going up. This will hopefully help to alleviate some of that pressure.”

Sadowsky turned to fellow paramedic Brian Haines to help organize Thursday’s event.

Haines established the paramedic’s Helping the Hungry Food Drive in 2012, so far raising $30,864.42 and donating 27,046 pounds of food to the Soup Kitchen.

“During the pandemic we haven’t been able to do our food drives, but I am hoping in the next year to be able to get back at it again,” said Haines.

He said GlobalMedic recognizes there is a need to help people close to home, as well as abroad.

“They have set this up because of the demand on the soup kitchens and food banks. It’s their way of doing something more locally for people who are in need, because there is a need here too,” said Haines.

Sadowsky said more than 60 volunteers have signed up for Thursday’s pack-a-thon. The roster of volunteers is made up of paramedics, as well as people from just about every walk of life.

“We’re lucky, a lot of people have signed on for multiple shifts,” she said.