Food banks forced to toss spoiled groceries

Ottawa food banks have been forced to toss out thousands of kilograms of perishable food after Friday's tornadoes knocked out power to large parts of the region.

Eleven locations, mostly in the city's hard-hit west end, lost power to their fridges and freezers for more than 48 hours.

Perishable food thawed that long must be thrown away, according to Ottawa Food Bank CEO Michael Maidment.

To throw out food, it's just not in our makeup. It was very difficult.- Marie-Louise Knight, Foster Farm Family House

"[It was] really high-value food. We're talking milk, eggs, beef, fish — good stuff we deliver to food banks," Maidment said.

"We heard from a number of those food banks that were practically in tears, throwing hundreds of pounds of ground beef right into the dumpster. But obviously there's no choice."

Fundraising campaign

The Ottawa Food Bank, the umbrella organization that supplies food cupboards around the city, has mounted a new fundraising campaign to try to make up for the loss.

At the Foster Farm Family House food cupboard in Britannia Heights, Marie-Louise Knight spent part of Tuesday throwing away a heartbreaking bounty of essential grocery items including kilos of ground beef and pork, a freezer full of bread and pastry, dozens of litres of milk and dozens of cartons of fresh eggs.

"We could barely bring ourselves to throw it out," she said.

"To throw out food, it's just not in our makeup. It was very difficult."

Many of the volunteers helping Knight throw the food away also rely on the food bank to fill their own fridges.

The Foster Farm food cupboard later received a re-supply from the Ottawa Food Bank, and has extended its opening hours so families can drop by for supplies.

Families hit hard

Because the twisters touched down the day after many low-income families received their child tax benefit, many households that had just stocked their fridges also lost everything.

Crystal Nadon, 36, a mother of three, was one of those people who had just restocked when the storm hit.

She estimates she lost $350 worth of food.

"I ended up stocking the deep freezer and the fridge. I lost everything by Sunday," she said.  

• CBC Ottawa has set up a community connector Facebook page for people looking for help

On Tuesday Nadon dropped by the Foster Farm Family House food cupboard, looking for help to keep her hungry family of five fed.

Katrina Charbonneau, 42, had just arrived at the grocery store when the power went out Friday.

But she and her four children, all under 12, have had little to survive on since.

"We ate everything that we could in the house, and lost a lot in the freezer," she said.