Wrestling matches in Prince George aim to support Quesnel after tragic fire

A wrestler is taking to the ring to support his hometown with fundraisers after a fire burned down the Nourish Food Bank on May 5.

Steve Ingraham, who goes by the moniker, The Barlow Creek Butcher, when he's wrestling, says that the food bank has been around since he was a kid and losing it is like losing part of Quesnel. 

"It was sad to hear. That food bank has been around for years," he told CBC's Daybreak North.

Ingraham, born and raised in Quesnel, has been a resident of Prince George for 13 years and wrestles with Prime Time Wrestling at the Prince George Civic Centre. 

In a news release, Prime Time Wrestling says that Davy Greenlees and Stuart Brown have raised over $30,000 in charitable donations over the past two years with the wrestling matches they co-ordinate at the Prince George Civic Centre. 

When they heard about the Quesnel food bank, they decided to take action. 

"We don't present matches in Quesnel, but some of our wrestlers live there and we feel that this is the type of disaster that calls upon us to be a good neighbour," said Primetime Wrestling CEO Greenlees.

 "We are organizing a food drive through our ticket outlets and our live events in the coming weeks to help replenish the supplies and ensure that families in need don't go without."  

Elaine Laberge, the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association of Northern B.C., the organization that runs the Nourish Food Bank, says that the community is shocked. 

LISTEN | Quesnel food bank destroyed by fire:

Radio West8:35Quesnel food bank destroyed by fire

A fire has destroyed the Nourish Food Bank and Sprout Kitchen in Quesnel. The fire broke out Monday night. Elaine Laberge is the Executive Director of Canadian Mental Health Association of Northern BC, which runs the food bank. She says the community is shocked. 

She told CBC's Radio West that she found out about the fire in the middle of the night over the phone. She said it is gutted with only a shell of the former building left.

"We had no idea how catastrophic it would be."

Laberge says that the cost-of-living crisis has hit Quesnel hard and that the community cannot survive without the food bank. It supported 500 to 700 households a month and ran a lunch program for those needing food three days a week. 

"It's not just food, it's health and well-being," she said, tearing up. 

Ingraham says that he wanted to get involved in the fundraisers because he has family and friends who still live in Quesnel and knows people who utilize the food bank. 

"I wanted to make sure that we could help out the people in Quesnel and make sure they get what they need."

Prime Time will be accepting food donations at their next matches with an opportunity to win exclusive prizes for fans who donate, and all donations collected will be delivered on May 21.

Laberge says that her hope is that one day society won't need food banks. 

"It's not about taking a can of beans off your counter that you don't need; it's about raising awareness about injustice and inequality, because we shouldn't need food banks." 

She says that the rebuild of the food bank won't be overnight, but it is coming.

"We need the community to come together to weather this storm."