‘A level of desperation’: Food program for Winnipeg youth hit by vandalism

A Winnipeg youth program says it’s hoping for more donations in light of recent vandalism.

Kent Dueck, executive director of Inner City Youth Alive, told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg the line to the organization’s freezer was recently cut by copper thieves, ruining weeks’ worth of meals set aside for their Meals for Kids program.

“It was devastating because we have volunteers go around rescuing food that was about to be thrown out,” Dueck said.

“We had to do repairs real quick to try to get back up, because one of our values is we just don’t want kids to suffer … and then this week it happened again.”

The organization was already dealing with smashed car windows, he said, and combined with the freezer damage, they’ll be out around $19,000 for repairs.

They’re now calling for more donations so they can replace the food they lost and continue to serve inner-city youth without interruption.

“We still have to keep the lights on, and we have to keep programs running. We’re in a season where we’re going over things with a fine-toothed comb to make sure we’re running lean … so it’s just an untimely hit.”

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Meals for Kids co-ordinator Lindsay Feduniw told Global Winnipeg the freezer was first hit over the Thanksgiving long weekend, causing all the food to spoil, and a similar incident happened last week.

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“This time it was a little bit more detrimental to how our programs operate because the damage was a lot more severe,” Feduniw said.

“I guess the line had been ripped off the side of the building and released all the freon a little quicker. So we came in to find everything quite defrosted. What ended up happening was the motor running in the freezer started heating the inside of the freezer, causing a lot more food to spoil this time around.

“It’s devastating. This food is made for kids, or is donated for kids with the intention of feeding them and preparing them healthy, nutritious meals when they come to see us.”

Feduniw said the incidents affect the organization’s bottom line, and ultimately their ability to serve the community the way they would like, especially with grocery prices on the rise.

Despite all of the damage, Dueck said he doesn’t hold any ill will against the people responsible.

“I’m convinced that whoever did this, they’re in such a wild sort of survival mode that they’re not even cognizant of the moral implications of what they’re doing,” he said.

“There’s a level of desperation when people are caught up in this stuff.”

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