Off-duty firefighters come to the rescue of the Food Bank of York Region

By Mark Pavilons

Off duty firefighters from multiple regions, including Caledon, have signed on to become delivery truck drivers for the Food Bank of York Region (FBYR).

Three full-time and one retired firefighter are the main drivers for the collection and distribution of the daily food donations provided by the FBYR to its network of front-line organizations. They also partake in delivering food through the COVID home delivery program when needed. 

Christine, who lives in Bolton and works with Caledon Fire and Emergency Services, is one of the drivers.

These four firefighters began their training with the FBYR prior to the COVID pandemic, alongside the CEO Alex Bilotta. They were taught how to sort, pack, load and unload the refrigerated delivery trucks, had to learn the scheduled delivery routes, and meet the people running the agencies that the organization supports locally. With the added extra qualified drivers, the FBYR can operate at a more efficient level and deliver more food to more agencies and collect more food donations from community partners within the food hub network. 

“Getting drivers before the COVID-19 pandemic, was already hard. Each driver must have a spotless DZ licence held for over 3 years, before our insurance company will cover them,” explains Alex Bilotta, founder and CEO of the Food Bank of York Region. “The need for drivers in the distribution industry was already urgent. Now we face even harder times with the corona virus impact. We thought we'd try to reach out to any firefighters in York Region as they all hold a DZ license, and they thankfully, answered our call.”

Christine, Allan, Tommy, and Edmund have all been employed by the FBYR as DZ delivery drivers in their off-duty time as firefighters.

They have begun to schedule themselves for the delivery driving shifts around their full-time firefighting work weeks, making great use of their spare time to further support their communities. It was an answered call to an urgent need for drivers at the FBYR to ensure more food assistance is provided across the region. 

“We can all look up to these wonderful individuals as examples of people who are consistently contributing to their neighborhoods in a way that positively impacts the communities and residents affected most by COVID-19,” said the FBYR.

For more information on how to become a volunteer with the FBYR, visit www.fbyr.ca/volunteer. 

The Food Bank of York Region is the regional food hub network serving the nine municipalities of York Region (Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, and King). They source, collect, warehouse, and deliver surplus fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food donations for the 80+ local front-line direct service agencies within their network.