Staff from Applewood Heating and Lennox Industries deliver new heating and cooling unit to the Lumby Food Bank. In back row from the right is John Rusch from Applewood, Robert Wilkinson from the Food Bank and Mike Janzen from Lennox. (Photo credit: Ragnhild Richter-Struebe Photography)

By Pete McIntyre

business supports vital service

Food bank ‘feels the love’ after generous donation

Sep 22, 2022 | 12:30 PM

Cooler summers and warmer winters are in store for the Lumby Food Bank thanks to a donation from a caring local business and its affiliated company

Applewood Heating and Air Conditioning has teamed up with Lennox Industries to donate a new Lennox heating and cooling system to the food bank, and installed the system at the facility on Shuswap Avenue.

The unit is valued at about $12,000, and was installed by Applewood staff this week.

The donation came through the company’s ‘Feel The Love’ program.

It’s all smiles as Lennox and Applewood Heating provide new heating and cooling system for the Lumby Food Bank.(Ragnhild Richter-Struebe Photography)

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Robert Wilkinson, president of the Lumby Food Bank Society, said the donation means a lot.

“It’s going into the office area where we have two coolers, and it gets so hot in the summer time, we can hardly stand it,” he told Vernon Matters.

Wilkinson was going to buy a new system, but says the society ran short of cash.

“And one of the fellows who volunteers at the food bank, he [John Rusch] works for Applewood, and the next thing I know, he’s telling me they are going to do this for us, so I was quite surprised. It never ceases to amaze me, the generosity of people,” Wilkinson remarked.

Wilkinson bought the building three years ago and donated it to the Lumby Food Bank Society in January.

“The furnace that’s in there is 18 or 19 years old, so it’s just about at the end of its life. I had put that on the list of things to do this year, but we just ran out of money,” he explained.

John Rusch works for Applewood Heating as a gas fitter and also volunteers for the food bank. It was his wife, Flori McLean, who came up with the idea to pursue the company donation.

Rusch sent an email to Mike Janzen of Lennox industries and soon received word that Lennox was donating the equipment for the food bank.

Rusch said the food bank proudly gives to the community and people-in-need without question.

“With the declining amount of donations, and the food recovery donations received from retail stores, the food bank is struggling to feed people. The food bank has needed to purchase food for the hampers, therefore they don’t have the funds to replace aging equipment,” Rusch told Vernon Matters.

Applewood staff install new unit at Lumby Food Bank to the delight of Food Bank president Robert Wilkinson (at right). (Ragnhild Richter-Struebe Photography)

Rusch said the new system will help the organization be better equipped to meet the community needs, and to “give a hand up for the less fortunate and elderly people.”

Rusch is offering a heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in the “Feel the Love” event that was held at the food bank on Sept 19 and 20.

“The food bank society and especially Robert Wilkinson are truly ecstatic about the new equipment which will make the office space much more comfortable for the coming years,” Rusch stated.

Rusch is thanking Lennox Industries and Mike Janzen for donating the equipment; Applewood Heating for volunteering material and labour to install the new system; Laing roofing for donating time and materials for the roofing needs; Avenue Pizza and Treats and Jamie for donating lunch on both days for crews and staff; and his wife, Flori McLean, for the idea.

Wilkinson said demand for the food bank has risen “exponentially,” up about 40 per cent from last year.

“I think a lot of it is the remnants of COVID. It’s changed. I’ve got a lot of young families and before I had a lot of retired people and people on disabilities, and I still have them, but the new people I have are mostly young families or single parent families who just can’t make ends meet,” Wilkinson said.

The Lumby Food Bank services over 100 regular clients and has about a dozen volunteers helping out.

Applewood Heating and Air Conditioning is celebrating its 25th anniversary.