Marissa Lentz-McGrath
Local Journalism Initiative
TimminsToday.com
SMOOTH ROCK FALLS – When the Smooth Rock Falls Food Bank was broken into last week, nearly all of its food was stolen.
Days later, donations from across the North helped refill its shelves in time for Thanksgiving. Donations have poured in from neighbouring food banks, grocery stores, and individuals moved by the story.
For Smooth Rock Falls resident James Ewen, the theft struck a deeply personal chord.
“I’ve had to use the food bank growing up as a child and as a young adult,” he told TimminsToday. “I was in a very bad situation. I grew up very, very poor. I thought this is a way that I can just kind of give back.”
After hearing about the break-in, Ewen got in his truck and made the roughly 200-kilometre round trip to Timmins to stock up on food for donation.
“I figured, let’s see what we can do for a Thanksgiving dinner for as many people as possible with $500,” he said. “By the time I got to Timmins, I was thinking, the food banks have given my family more than that before, but that’s what I could afford.”
At the Timmins No Frills, Ewen’s overflowing cart caught the attention of one of the store manager’s, Ryan, who asked what he was doing. When Ewen explained his mission, Ryan decided to help in a big way, Ewen said.
“I had 150 pounds worth of potatoes in one cart,” Ewen said. “Ryan told me, ‘Put it over here, nobody will touch it, and come see me when you’re done.’ By the time I left, my little Ford Ranger was heaping — inside and out. They had to have donated at least $800 on top of what I put in.”
Ewen’s donation included items such as potatoes, carrots, onions, soups, meat, eggs, cheese, juice boxes, pudding cups, Jell-O, and bread.
“Our fridge and freezer are full,” said food bank manager Claudette Mainvelle. “They made me cry. It was touching.”
Mainvelle said the support from across the region has been overwhelming. A GoFundMe page has been launched, a karaoke night fundraiser is being organized, and a Kapuskasing business has come forward with a donation.
“We have enough money now to install cameras and to fix the door,” she said.
The Smooth Rock Falls Food Bank supports about 22 local families each month and is run entirely by volunteers, including Claudette and her husband, Paul. When she discovered the break-in on Sept. 29, she described the sight as “heartbreaking,” not just because of the food that was gone, but because of the time and effort volunteers spend sourcing affordable groceries to feed the community.
The investigation is ongoing, but for now, Mainvelle says she’s choosing to focus on gratitude.
Ewen feels the same way. For him, this Thanksgiving season has been about finding light in the darkness, a message he’s been sharing publicly since his donation.
“Because of my past, because I’ve lived in a very, very dark, negative place, I talk about the light and the positivity,” he said.
“There’s so much negative in the world right now. For a food bank to be robbed before Thanksgiving, that shows how bad things are, even in small towns. But the positive is the community support that’s come from this. It’s absolutely amazing.”
And for Ewen, that’s what northern living is all about.
“When hardship happens in northern towns, they unite and they come together,” he said.
