About 50 Grade 7 students from Victoria Cross Public School here went on a shopping spree with a mission at the local No Frills grocery store.
Armed with paper and pen, in groups of four, the students raised about $1,300 for the Community Pantry food bank participating in the “Shop with a Cop” program.
Wellington County OPP officers joined the groups, offering their shopping knowledge to the teams. They were joined by Wellington North fire service members and EMS ambulance personnel.
TD Canada Trust donated $1,000 to the cause, issuing each team $100. The objective was for the teams to shop and keep their food tabs under $100 without the use of a calculator. Fresh and non-perishable food items were collected and purchased with one team reportedly coming in under the mark with a final bill of $99.99.
Wellington County OPP Inspector Scott Lawson said the program was initiated in Wellington North and came from a similar program operated in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
The Victoria Cross shopping spree was the last one to be held in Wellington North, with similar sprees already completed by students from Arthur Public School (at the local L&M) and from St. Mary Catholic School in Mount Forest (at the local Foodland).
Community Pantry coordinator Marg Rapp said the event helps fill the shelves and assist families in need, while giving the students an insight into what it costs to feed a family.
“It’s a very good program and the students find out how expensive food is,” she said.
Last year, Rapp explained, the food bank assisted 1,350 families.
The need continues to grow for families and individuals in Mount Forest and the surrounding area served by the Community Pantry.
Rapp said the growth is noted in how much the food bank has seen its expenses rise. In 2001 the food bank spent $8,000 on food and “last year we spent $32,000.”
Lawson joked the shopping knowledge of his officers is good “as long as there’s no Oreos, bags of chips or donuts.”
Student Ann VanDer Aa said her team spent the previous day looking at food prices in the No Frills flyer.
“The family we have is a mother and one-year-old daughter so we’re looking for food a baby can have,” she said while her team scoured the store shelves.
Mayor Ray Tout also noted the success of the program in helping the less fortunate.
“We had a successful Shop with a Cop,” he said, referring to the amount collected for the food bank.
