SPONSORED BY GRIEG SEAFOOD
Krisandra Rufus was motivated to start serving meals to those in need after a relative told her he was hungry and asked if she had anything to eat.
“I said, ‘Isn’t there a dinner program and he said no,’” she says. “I was more surprised than shocked.”
Rufus started to realize that there were many in the community who also did not have an easy time finding a healthy meal.
Born in Alert Bay and raised in Vancouver, she first came to the Campbell River area in her mid-teens. She moved around a bit more and then returned in her mid-20s.
After she realized the need in the community, she started the Grassroots Kind Hearts Society in April 2015, serving the food to people right out in the elements on weekends.
“When I started, we were outside,” she said. “We were hoping we could get our own place.”
It wasn’t easy, and she was told early on she would meet resistance from some in the community, but she persevered.
She then moved it indoors and started serving meals through the week. Now, she and other volunteers cook meals to be served out of the Radiant Life Church on Cypress Street.
Rufus has raised funds through activities such as selling bannock at the market and running playoff hockey pools to cover the costs of the program. The program has its own website at http://www.grassrootskindhearts.org/about-us.html and a Facebook page. Through social media, volunteers stay in touch about what food they can cook for the menu throughout the week.
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