New Brunswick Real Estate Board Works Across the Province to Support Community Members Facing Food Insecurity
On October 24, the New Brunswick Real Estate Board hosted its inaugural REALTORS Care® Day, which saw 125 REALTOR® volunteers stationed in eight communities collecting food donations for New Brunswick Food Depot Alimentaire. This initiative ensured that the food collected stayed within the communities where it was gathered, supporting local food banks, community kitchens, shelters, and other supportive agencies.
As Canadians allocate more of their budget towards housing and living expenses, and as grocery bills continue to rise, putting food on the table becomes increasingly challenging. According to Statistics Canada, 16.9% of Canadians were food insecure in 2022, up from 12.9% in 2021. Food Banks Canada’s Hunger Count underlines this issue, showing that, in March of 2024, there were more than 2 million visits to food banks across the country, the most they’ve ever recorded.
REALTORS® in New Brunswick worked in the communities of Woodstock, Rothesay, Moncton, Bathurst, Oromocto, Miramichi, Fredericton and Saint John to support efforts to alleviate hunger across the province. Throughout the day, the volunteers worked in shifts, stationed at local grocery stores, ensuring high traffic to maximize their food collection efforts.
“My heart was full today,” said Michelle Hardy, REALTOR® and salesperson with Coldwell Banker Select Realty and Chair of the New Brunswick Real Estate Board’s REALTORS Care® Committee. “As the impact we had coming together as a province to do something for others was overwhelming and wonderful to be a part of.”
Partnering with New Brunswick Food Depot Alimentaire ensured that experts would help get the donations collected on this REALTORS Care® Day into the hands of organizations on the frontlines of the fight against food insecurity in the communities where they were gathered. Each year, this organization helps to distribute $10 million worth of food and products to a network of supportive agencies across the province. The organizations they support include 65 food banks, 140 school programs, and more than 160 community partners, such as shelters.
“We’re so thankful for [REALTORS®] for leading this, it’s very much needed this year,” said Carrie Delaney, Membership Programs and Services Manager, Food Depot Alimentaire. “Everything is expensive, with the rise of inflation and the cost of housing, it’s very needed.”
Thanks to the efforts of these volunteers, food donations were ready to be distributed by New Brunswick Food Depot Alimentaire, which will help countless community members across the province, whether that be someone experiencing homelessness, a student participating in a school lunch program or a family struggling to make ends meet.
The New Brunswick Real Estate Board and its members support community members in need through a variety of initiatives, including a charity golf tournament and bursary program for New Brunswick non-profits.
