Four local firefighters are part of the team that has been ensuring that food donations are collected and delivered to food banks and residents across York Region throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three full-time firefighters and one retired firefighter "answered the call" for delivery truck drivers for the Food Bank of York Region (FBYR) at a time when the agency was struggling to find drivers.
"Getting drivers before the COVID-19 pandemic was already hard," Alex Bilotta, CEO and founder of FBYR, said in a news release. "Each driver must have a spotless DZ licence held for over three years before our insurance company will cover them. The need for drivers in the distribution industry was already urgent.
"Now we face even harder times with the coronavirus impact. We thought we’d try to reach out to any firefighters in York Region as they all hold a DZ licence, and they, thankfully, answered our call.”
The firefighters from Richmond Hill, Bolton and Bradford are employed by the FBYR to work when they are off duty, he added."We can all look up to these wonderful individuals as examples of people who are consistently contributing to their neighborhoods in a way that positively impacts the communities and residents affected most by COVID-19." With the added extra qualified delivery drivers, the FBYR can operate at a more efficient level and deliver more food to more agencies and make more collections of food donations.
The FBYR is the regional food hub network serving Newmarket, Aurora, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, East Gwillimbury, Georgina and King. They source, collect, warehouse and deliver surplus fresh, frozen and non-perishable food donations for more than 80 local frontline direct service agencies within their network.
For more information about the FBYR, volunteering or donating, visit www.fbyr.ca.
