REALTORS® Eager to Feed Families Again

Surrey, B.C. – On November 24th, REALTORS® and staff from Sutton – Premier Realty were invited to return to the Surrey Food Bank after a year of waiting because of COVID-19 restrictions. The team of 10 volunteers delivered cash donations and non-perishable food then worked a four-hour shift organizing the warehouse and preparing packages for distribution.

One of the volunteers, REALTOR® Graham Newberry, was pleased to discover that the food bank was bigger and better than ever.

“A highlight was seeing the food banks’ new warehouse and distribution center. It has expanded to 24,000 square feet from 8,000. There are new coolers and state-of-the-art systems for storage and distribution.” That ramped-up capacity will help to feed more local families.

“Many food bank users are single parents with two or more kids,” says Graham. “Those parents are usually fully employed, but with the costs of daycare, housing, food, transportation, etc. their wages fall short of buying enough groceries. Although the food bank can’t feed every family in need for every meal, it is a great supplement to that shortfall and is in great demand in our community.”

Graham plans to volunteer again, noting: “We all left with a warm heart, smiles, hugs and memories and a keen desire to help again next month.”

Another highlight of the visit for the volunteers was meeting with the Executive Director. She provided a synopsis of the organization’s history and its effect on the community, before explaining the volunteers’ duties in the warehouse. When the group was finished, she met them again to ask about their experience. One of her final questions was how can they help others learn about this community initiative?

Anyone interested in learning about this team-building experience is invited to contact Graham Newberry at gnewberry@sutton.com or www.grahamnewberry.com. To learn more about the Surrey Food Bank’s programs and services, visit www.surreyfoodbank.org.  

Pictured above, left to right: Jaspreet Goraya, Bhavin Gakhal, Angel Garcia, Shawn Hlookoff, Graham Newberry, Shahin Soheili, Holly Newberry, Kyla Sherwood, Natalie Kekec and Shaan Chahal.

Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 6,500 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.

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Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. Contact:

Brooke Matthews
604-691-1689
stories@suttonspirit.com

Sutton - Premier Realty Contact:

Graham Newberry
604-379-9153
gnewberry@sutton.com