Seth Lindoe, driver for the Medicine Hat Food Bank, starts loading 400 individual Easter meals at Rossco's Pub Thursday morning. Also in the photo: Ross Beach owner of Rossco's Pub and Celina Symmonds, executive director for the Food Bank.--PHOTO SOUTHERN ALBERTA NEWSPAPERS
A Medicine Hat restaurant provided 400 prepared meals to the Medicine Hat and District Food Bank on Thursday so its clients can enjoy a tasty Easter dinner next week.
“Everyone’s gone through some hard times and some of the people that have to use a food bank have been customers and friends of mine,” said Ross Beach, owner of Rossco’s Pub. “They just hit a tough fork in the road”
This is not the first time Rossco’s has provided prepared meals to the food bank. Beach says he called the food bank a few years ago and asked what he could do to help.
Celina Symmonds, executive director for the food bank, says many clients have challenges preparing meals with the groceries they are given.
Beach hit on an idea. Rossco’s would fully prepare meals that could be handed out, and would just need to be warmed up before being ready to eat.
The first project was meals at Christmas time, then Thanksgiving and now also Easter.
Symmonds says she was so grateful that a local business person understood the need and was willing to provide a solution. She says the gesture will be of assistance to food bank clients, who will take the meals home next week.
“It’s the care and consideration,” said Symmonds. “Someone cares enough about them to make sure they have a special meal.”
The Easter meals included roasted ham, potatoes, macaroni cheese and mixed vegetables, said Beach. The meals are frozen at the food bank and will then be handed out to clients next week.
“It will probably be gone in two days,” said Beach. “It’s very heart thrilling to know that the food is going out to families that don’t have the capabilities of preparing it. They get a home cooked meal on these special occasions.”
Some of the food Rossco’s Pub prepared was provided by the food bank and the rest he donated, including the containers, the services of his staff and use of his restaurant’s kitchen. Three people at Rossco’s spent 20 hours preparing the meals.
They used 100 pounds of potatoes, 150 pounds of ham, 100 pounds of mixed vegetables and 25 pounds of pasta, said Beach.
“It is an awesome feeling that you’re giving back to the community,” he said.
