The manager of St. Joseph's food bank in Mission was awarded the King Charles III Coronation medal last Saturday (May 24).
Sandra Cascaden has been with St. Joseph's for over five years and received a nomination from Food Banks BC for the medal.
Cascaden was proud of the nomination, but thought the volunteers at St. Joseph's were more deserving.
"I was super shocked. I almost felt undeserving because I'm thinking it should go to the volunteers that are serving the community," Cascaden said.
Nick Johnson with Food Banks BC said Cascaden has an endless fountain of energy and her dedication to community service is extraordinary.
"Sandra is one of the hardest-working food bankers that I know. She pours her heart and soul into this work, with few paid staff supports, and in a space that most of us would agree is far too small for the scale of what she’s doing — yet somehow, she makes it happen," Johnson said.
She credited the hard work and togetherness of volunteers for helping St. Joseph's stand out, but said most food banks have the same vision.
"Our uniqueness, I think, is our closeness in volunteers. We're like a family here. Everybody helps everybody. Everybody knows everybody," Cascaden said.
Jennifer Thomas has been volunteering with the food bank for about six years and praised the connections Cascaden has made with the community.
"She makes sure nothing is wasted, it's distributed — whether it's people, animals, farmers —she does a really good job, and that's kept me here for six years," Thomas said.
Jim Hinds, a team leader at St. Joseph's, previously won the King Charles Coronation medal. He said Cascaden's recognition was well-deserved.
"She puts her heart and soul into this facility," Hinds said. "I think what we've seen in the last three or four years is a huge uptick in the demand for the food bank and we've been able, through Sandra, to meet those demands at this present moment, but it's getting harder and harder."
Volunteer Marilyn Wishart praised Cascaden for her passion. She also credited the welcoming atmosphere at St. Joseph's, which has a diverse group of volunteers.
Wishart says that with demand increasing, the food bank could use more help.
"People are barely surviving, and all you've got to do is take a look at the costs when you go shopping... It's shocking and there's a vulnerability that is surfacing now with the numbers of families that are coming. It's huge," Wishart said.
Clients of the food bank are increasing by roughly 15 per month, Cascaden says. She said while St. Joseph's normally does pretty well managing demand, the food bank has two empty shelves at the moment.
She said the food bank is in need of non-perishable donations and asked groups like schools and churches to organize food drives if they can. St. Joseph's is also on the lookout for volunteers to help with home deliveries for seniors.
