‘Inspiring’ teens paint faces at farmers’ market for food bank

Alyssa Lam has noticed that times aren’t the best for everyone.

She has heard about increased challenges and demands on food banks. And when she’s at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library, she can see that request on the community fridge.

“We use it a lot. Every time I went there, I passed by, it was empty or someone was there looking for food,” she said. “With inflation, there are people who don’t have enough money to feed themselves.”

And she started to think.

Alyssa had already painted pictures on the faces of the girls who lived next door with a friend and enjoyed it. Of course, it helped that they received positive feedback from family.

What better way, she thought, than to paint faces and give back to the community by donating the proceeds to the Helping Hand food bank in Bradford.

“And my mother supported me,” she explains.

“She loves giving to the community. I thought it was such a wonderful idea and I went online, to Facebook, and asked people how we could go about doing this,” says his mother, Sara Truong.

At first, they were discouraged from learning about anything that could go wrong. But they were encouraged when Jennifer Bahinski, market manager at the Bradford Farmers’ Market, happily supported their initiative by offering them a stall.

Alyssa and her family friend, Tiffany Nguyen, have been there for four weeks straight. They return for the fifth time this Saturday for the market’s big harvest festival, which closes the market season. Young shoppers are encouraged to dress up for a morning party Saturday and there will be pumpkin decorating, music and a big giveaway.

“It’s going very well. I posted online and a lot of people supported us. It was very busy every time. Some people came and donated money. Some people don’t have money, and that’s fine. Some people bring food,” says Sara.

Over the four weekends, the friends managed to raise nearly $700. Saturday will be their last day and they are hoping for a good turnout.

“Alyssa is an inspiring example of what our young people in Bradford can accomplish by taking just one step to create change in their community,” Bahinski said. “It’s a wonderful way for them to share all the meaningful work they do and we will continue to provide this space for them.”

The market, she adds, quadrupled the amount of space allocated to community groups over the past season, this year hosting a mix of 21 local, non-profit and registered charities. Bahinski would be more than happy to continue to increase that number for next season. She provides groups with a free tent and table to use for the day.

Helping Hand reports that the community has also stepped up as plans for Thanksgiving are finalized. Schools have launched food drives and grocery stores have set up bins for donations.

“The money helps because then we can buy what we need for the food bank,” says longtime volunteer Cyndie Pasquarella, who was also at the market last week, impressed by the girls and their work with the children. . “These girls are wonderful. I was so impressed.