Amanda Bauer has experienced first hand what it’s like to choose rent over food. She wanted to do something to help the less fortunate in Lethbridge, so she built a food box in front of her home on 13th Street S. and called it Feed the Need.
“I saw something on Facebook about a lady doing it in the (United) States and the idea was sitting in the back of my head for a while,” Bauer said. “I then saw some friends in Saskatoon build three boxes – that was really the spark to give me the motivation.”
This is the first food box in Lethbridge and Bauer said she is shocked at how many people are already giving and taking as they pass by it.
“I went to work yesterday and by the time I got home, there were new items and items were taken,” she explained. “For me to see that the box is working , I don’t need to know who is using it, I just need to know it is being used.”
Bauer said everything from baking to non-perishable food items and toiletries can be found on the shelves.
“That’s what this is about: easy accessibility, not worrying about going to the soup kitchen. Sometimes there is pride that’s involved.”
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Bauer was diagnosed with cancer last year and is now done treatments but said they took a toll on her emotional well-being and she now suffers from mental health issues. She said helping others helps her to heal.
“I know there are days when they are dark, they are really dark, and I cannot imagine being alone, outside, with nowhere to go,” she said.