Clearview food bank coordinator retires

Photo: A retirement party was held for Clearview Stayner Food Bank coordinator Wendy Jeffries (second from right) Saturday. Pictured is Larry Culham (from left), Clearview Township councillor Robert Walker and Tamara Culham.

Clearview Stayner Food Bank coordinator Wendy Jeffries is retiring from her volunteer position.

Jeffries said after 10 years with the food bank, seven years as coordinator, she is stepping back to take a break. She said she is planning to take six months off before considering returning to the food bank as a volunteer.

After an injury and the loss of her son, she said she needs a break.

“I feel like I have been doing the last two years almost on auto pilot,” said Jeffries. “It’s just time to take a break.”

During the last decade, Jeffries said she has seen the food bank’s client list triple.

“When we first started, we would see about 30 families in a month and now we are seeing about 90 families in a month,” said Jeffries.

She said those people come from all over Clearview Township.

The food bank was taken on by the Stayner Ministerial Association in 2008, from the Salvation Army. Jeffries oversaw a move to the food bank’s new Main Street location in Stayner in 2013.

The new coordinator is Pam Royal.