Passengers on the West Coast Express received a welcome surprise on Thursday night.
Staff from the Mission Save-On-Foods store were at the station handing out free bags of food to the commuters.
The random act of kindness was part of the food chain’s “going the extra mile” campaign.
“We handed out 40 bags full of ingredients for dinner tonight,” explained Jim Shaw, manager of the Mission store.
As commuters got off the train, staff and volunteers greeted them with the free food bags.
“People were very happy. Some were surprised, because they didn’t know what we were doing but once we said ‘Would you like dinner on Save-On-Foods?’ they happily took it,” said Shaw.
All of the 40 bags were handed out in less than a minute.
Jamie Sayers, a marketing specialist with the Overwaitea Food Group was on hand at the giveaway and she was happy by how smoothly the event went.
“This is just another opportunity that we can go the extra mile for our neighbours. Absolutely any chance we get in our stores, we are definitely looking for opportunities like that,” said Sayers.
Shaw agreed with those sentiments adding Save-On-Foods in Mission is always looking for ways to stay involved with the community.
“We take pride in what we do in the community of Mission,” said Shaw.
That community service includes huge donations to both of Mission’s food banks. Shaw estimates that Save-On-Foods donates between 10,000 and 15,000 pounds of food to the Mission Community Services Food Bank and an additional 2,000 to 5,000 pounds to St. Joseph’s Food Bank.
“Tonight was more of a random act of kindness for people who might not expect Save-On-Foods to be at the West Coast Express.”
Each bag handed out to commuters contained Fresh Solutions ingredients to cook dinner for that night.
Bag Ingredients:
Rich Chicken Stroganoff
Maple Leaf Prime boneless skinless chicken breast
Western Family Organic crimini mushrooms
1 small yellow onion
1 bulb garlic
WF apple cider vinegar
WF tomato paste
1L Tetra Pack Campbell’s chicken broth
Dijon mustard
WF sour cream
Western Family Organics fresh dill
Western Family Organic fresh parsley
Western Family broad egg noodles
Recipe cards