Volunteers cooking hundreds of meals a day for crews battling Shelburne wildfire
CBC News | Posted: June 9, 2023 8:03 PM | Last Updated: June 9, 2023
'I just wanted to make sure that everybody had a safe place to come with good food,' says volunteer
Volunteers in Shelburne, N.S., have transformed the Birchtown Community Hall into a meal distribution centre for firefighters and other first responders, and a gathering place for anyone in need of a hot meal.
On Friday morning, about a dozen volunteers were frying up eggs, sausages, bacon, and blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Previous meals have included lobster, scallop burgers, and turkey dinners.
"I didn't want the glory of being the volunteer of the year or anything. I just wanted to make sure that everybody had a safe place to come with good food," said Laura Torak, who's been helping to organize the volunteers and ensure things run smoothly in the kitchen.
Torak owns a restaurant in Shelburne that had to close for a week because many of her staff were forced to evacuate their homes.
Between serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, Torak said it's hard to keep track of how many meals they've cooked up, but on their busiest day it was close to 300.
Some food will get packed up and delivered to firefighters, RCMP, emergency management officials and anyone else working on the front lines of the fires.
Some food will stay on hand at the community hall, for anyone who wants to drop by for a hot meal.
"When the firefighters first started to come in, we would clap for them, and then it got to the point that they were clapping for us," she said.
"We've got nicknames for people … we've made friendships."
Penny Smith is one of the volunteers helping in the kitchen and making deliveries. She's also the warden of the Municipality of the District of Shelburne.
She said the decision to open the kitchen was "spontaneous" and the community didn't miss a beat in figuring out a way to support their friends and families on the front lines.
"They're very thankful for it, and we're thankful to be able to provide it, because it gives us the opportunity to give back to the community who are giving back so much, as it is, to us," she said.
Donations of food and other items have been pouring in from Yarmouth to Sydney.
"It's not just a community event, it's provincewide … it's amazing," said Bob Stewart, from the back of one of two refrigerated trucks parked outside the community centre that are being used to store donated food.
Now that displaced residents are allowed to return to their homes, Torak said the number of meals going out the door has started to dwindle.
But she said there are still lots of people out there working on the front lines, including her son. who is a volunteer firefighter.
"I'm getting a little tired, maybe I need a little break. But people say 'you need your rest,' and I say: 'I'll rest when people can go home.'"
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