Supporting her First Nation Community Through Meals and Kindness

Cheryl Jones has dedicated the past decade to assisting her First Nation community of Neyaashiinigmiing, Ont., by battling food insecurity through her involvement with The Salvation Army’s Nawash Food Bank.

“I just knew that’s what the Lord wanted me to do, and it was to give back to my community,” Cheryl said.

It all started a few years back when Cheryl used to go to the food bank as a guest with her mother. During her weekly visits, Cheryl saw that the food bank had an open space that was not being used.

“We started with a pot of soup, and we progressed to full meals.”

“I noticed that they had a big space. So, I thought it would be a great thing to offer soup and sandwiches or something like that,” she said.

Eventually, Cheryl volunteered at the food bank. Once she became involved with the day-to-day operations, Cheryl implemented her initiative of serving meals to the food bank’s guests.

“When I came on board I just wanted to expand. I wanted to open it up for everybody, for the community to come in. So, we started with a pot of soup, and we progressed to full meals,” Cheryl said.

Since then, guests of the food bank have been able to not only pick up the food items that they need but also take some time to have a meal together with other members of the community.

“I wanted to continue to provide anybody with the help and support that they needed.”

These meals allow the staff to also get to know the guests better and refer them to other Salvation Army programs if needed.

According to Cheryl, the social aspect is very important to ensure some residents don’t feel like they are alone. During the pandemic loneliness increased as programs and businesses closed. However, the food bank stayed open, delivering food packages and meals to connect with residents.

“I wanted to continue to provide anybody with the help and support that they needed and sometimes they just needed meals to get back on their feet and be encouraged to continue on,” she said.

For eight years Cheryl has been the coordinator of the Nawash Food Bank. She credits her supervisor, Major Mary Millar of The Salvation Army Wiarton Community Church, with being very supportive of her work and with the community.

“Major Millar is the one that I talked to about the soup. She was very happy when I came on board and asked to do the meals.”

Due to Neyaashiinigmiing’s remoteness, the Nawash food bank plays a huge role in ensuring everyone in the territory is fed. For this reason, Cheryl would like to continue expanding. Currently, the food bank uses a small space at a local community centre, which they have outgrown. They hope to build a new building just for the food bank within the next few years.

For Cheryl, running the food bank has been one of her favourite jobs. She loves helping people, and, as a Christian, appreciates the fact that working with The Salvation Army allows her to pray throughout the day.

“I’m just thankful that I’ve had this time with The Salvation Army,” Cheryl said. “This has been one of my favourite jobs, I love it. It has challenges, but it is very rewarding.”

By Juan Romero