Family Raises Money For Hope To Help Feed Others

Shary Denes | May 12, 2021

Everybody, no matter their abilities, no matter the size of their contribution, can make a difference in the lives of people in need, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. That was the lesson Lori and Jason Galligan wanted to impart on their children when they launched their Eggs4Hope fund raiser for the Southern Frontenac Community Services Corp. (SFCSC) Food Bank.

As the mother of three children with special needs, two of whom also have physical needs, Lori said, “We wanted to teach the kids some way of looking outside our own household and struggles and seeing how COVID affects everyone in a different way. We wanted to make sure they know they can always do something. No matter how small it is. Doing something is better than nothing,” she said.

Owners of a 50-acre chicken farm in Harrowsmith, the Galligans, in a brainstorming session one day last April, decided they would donate the proceeds of their egg sales to the SFCS Food Bank, with the intent not so much of raising money for a cause, but to raise hope for people. “It was for hope,” Lori said of Eggs4Hope. “Everybody needs it.”

A full-on family affair, Anthony, 17, and 9-year-olds Austin and Kaileigh, joined in the laborious tasks of collecting and washing the eggs, putting them in cartons, refrigerating the eggs in the order they were collected and carrying the filled cartons to a self-serve-and-pay receptacle at the end of the driveway, ensuring the transactions were COVID friendly.

Running from April to November, Eggs4Hope raised $705 for the SFCS Food Bank. To put this in perspective, at $5 a carton, the children helped “process” 1,692 eggs. “They were so proud of themselves,”

Lori said. “We were doing this as a family.” Lori also wanted to acknowledge the generosity of the community, from people stopping by specifically to buy eggs from the farm to sharing information about Eggs4Hope on social media. “Such little things that added up to so much that made this possible,” she said.

Ellen Mortfield, SFCSC family services coordinator, said the money raised by the Galligans went a long way toward feeding families. “Seven hundred and five dollars was enough to buy three to four weeks of fresh foods for the food bank,” she said.

SFCSC Executive Director David Townsend added, “The Galligan family’s endeavour to turn their eggs into money for the food bank was a generous and much appreciated undertaking.”

According to SFCSC, the number of people using the food bank has jumped 169% from 2019 to 2020. Mortfield encourages anyone in need to take advantage of the food bank. “It doesn’t matter if they need the food bank as a one-time thing or for a while. That’s what we are here for.”

Available to low-income individuals, families and seniors in South Frontenac and rural Kingston (north of Hwy. 401), the food bank is located at The Grace Centre in Sydenham. To make an appointment to pick up a hamper of nonperishable and fresh foods, call Ellen Mortfield at 613-376-6477, ext. 203.

■ Shary Denes is a volunteer for Southern Frontenac Community Services