The Real Canadian Superstore in Peterborough is offering Apsley residents curbside pickup and donations to the food bank after a fire earlier this month destroyed the village’s only grocery store.
An overnight fire on Dec. 5 destroyed Sayers Foods in the village located 60 kilometres north of Peterborough. The grocery store for decades has served the 2,500 year-round residents of North Kawartha Township and more than 12,000 seasonal residents.
The nearest grocery stores for village residents are now 40 kilometres southwest to Buckhorn, 45 kilometres north to Bancroft or 50 kilometres south to the village of Lakefield.
On Tuesday, Real Canadian Superstore says it is working with the township to find temporary solutions for residents. Through the PC Express, the company is bringing online grocery orders from its Peterborough store for curbside pickup at the North Kawartha Community Centre.
Real Canadian Superstore is also providing $5,000 worth of food and supplies to the North Kawartha Food Bank.
“When we heard about the fire in Apsley, we immediately wanted to help,” stated Lauren Steinberg, Loblaw Digital senior vice-president, Loblaw. “The Real Canadian Superstore team in Peterborough along with our team at Loblaw Digital (who runs our PC Express service) were able to bring this all together quickly, adding extra help to prepare the orders and putting together some much needed items for the food bank.
“Hopefully, this can help the residents of Apsley and North Kawartha have a happy holiday season.”
Township Mayor Carolyn Amyotte says she can’t thank the company enough for its support.
“At a time when our town has suffered such a tragic loss and really needs some holiday cheer, we are very grateful to Real Canadian Superstore for their generous offer of support for our community,” she said.
Residents can place online grocery orders by visiting superstore.ca/apsley. Orders can be picked up at the North Kawartha Community Centre from Dec. 20 to 22.
As with any PC Express pickup order, the prices and sales are the same as shopping in the store, and the company has waived all pickup fees.
The truck will bring approximately 80 orders per day to the village with four time slots available each day.
Customers who require assistance placing an order or creating a PC-identification account can reach out to the PC Express customer service team at 1-844-295-8219.
No one was injured in the blaze, which remains under investigation.
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