It’s the little things that matter most; spreading love and kindness

Staff and volunteers at the Whitecourt Food Bank have gone out of their way to spread a little love for Valentine’s Day. With a chocolate stash from donations, the group created kits to hand out to single parents who come in. Food Bank Director Lori Coffey said their goal with the kits is to make someone feel good.

“If you’re coming to the food bank, things are already not going well. Right off the bat, you are coming stressed out and probably worried about other things, like bills, because we know that it’s not an easy decision to come and see us. When you leave the food bank, we try and do everything possible to make you feel better about at least some aspects of things.”

Coffey said her line of work is often emotional, making kindness all the more critical. As a referral service, the food bank helps people access other services, like applications for recreation subsidies for children, taking it beyond food. “If you have six things on your plate, let us take away one of those with the food, but we might be able to help with two or three. It helps give them some breathing room to focus on other things,” she said.

Stressful situations can lead to high emotions, and Coffey said they try and help turn negatives into positives. “Sometimes people come, and they are really stressed out and take it out on us. I don’t think they mean to do it, but when we smile back at them and offer them a treat, you can see it shift for them,” said Coffey. “Kindness is key.”

The Valentine’s Day kits started as a Christmas thing and evolved into something bigger. “There are a whole bunch of us that are single moms, and we were talking about how we always focus on getting everything for our kids, but then you realize that moms aren’t getting birthday presents or Christmas presents, and they don’t care, as long as their kids are taken care of. But we thought, why don’t we make some mom bags so that there’s a present for them,” explained Coffey.

Wanting single moms to have a present under the tree, the Whitecourt Food Bank put together gift-like donations they’d received. “It went over really well,” said Coffey, adding that they used donations like special toiletry items, handmade things, face masks, etc.

Coffey said they also keep little kits for single parents as a pick-me-up gift throughout the year. “You can see when they come in that they are super stressed. Giving them this thing we’ve put together for them brightens their day a bit. I think that’s so important. Not everyone has someone to buy them Christmas presents or something on Valentine’s Day, or the ability to buy anything.” The little touch has proven impactful.

Now, anytime the Whitecourt Food Bank receives donations that can be used as a gift item, like handmade things, they set it aside. “Everyone that donates that stuff to the food bank, this is what we use it for. All of it goes to good use and is very appreciated. The kits aren’t part of the food we focus on, but they are impactful, and we go through quite a few.”

They view the kits as a random act of kindness. “Making someone feel good is winning. You need little, tiny moments of niceness to keep you going. I stole the idea from another food bank years ago and find it brings happiness. At a job where you can struggle to make that happen, this really, really helps,” smiled Coffey.

Looking outward to her community, Coffey said the stress she sees at the food bank is everywhere. “We notice that everyone is stressed these days, not just food bank people, but people in general. I know that things are tough, but we are all going to get so much more out of life if we smile, are nice and use kind words rather than if we are mean to someone.”

Taking the experiences at the food bank out into the world, Coffey said no one ever knows what anyone else is truly going through. “I try to be as kind as I can to everyone because you never know what people are going through and how you can impact their day by being kind. When someone smiles at you, it’s contagious.”

Coffey encourages everyone to be the difference in someone’s day. “I see firsthand what these small things can do for someone and how it can make them feel. We can all do those things for people. Smiling at people, saying hello, saying thank you when someone holds a door open for you or waving at the driver that lets you in the line. It breeds kindness in your daily actions.”

Staff at the food bank put together the Valentine’s Day gifts for single parents on Friday and had a lot of fun doing it. “It feels good to do things for others. There is so much stress out there today, so spreading kindness is even more important because the harder it gets, the more kindness we need,” said Coffey.

At Christmas, 40 mom gifts were given out. The staff weren’t sure how many Valentine’s Day gifts they could make but planned to make as many as possible. Those looking to donate something different to the food bank are encouraged to think outside the box. “Non-food things are still useful to a food bank. When your house runs out of food, it runs out of everything else. Having those little extra things that people usually wouldn’t think about donating to a food bank is amazing. We can use it all.”