As the founder of Moisson Granby, to say that his retirement is well deserved would be an understatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s because Norman has dedicated the past 34 years to evolving Moisson Granby from a small soup kitchen, to a fully-fledged community organization that helps people in a variety of ways beyond food insecurity. \u201cIt is a passion for me,\u201d says Norman. \u201cIt\u2019s also a bit of an obsession. I\u2019ve actually had to take up meditation in order to stop thinking so much about those affected by poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His sincere empathy and commitment for helping others meant that not even impending retirement would be enough to slow Norman down in the wake of a sudden crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHere I was, getting ready to retire and then the pandemic hit,\u201d recounts Norman. \u201cI will remember that day for the rest of my life. As the aftermath started hitting communities across Canada, businesses and restaurants started shutting their doors and we knew it was only a matter of time before we felt the impact (of those closures) at Moisson Granby.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The impact Norman anticipated was immediate. Before the pandemic, Moisson Granby typically served an average of 10 families per day. Overnight, that number jumped by 500 percent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c60% of the people who came to our doors in the first month (of the pandemic) were first-time visitors,\u201d explains Norman. \u201cWith so many in need of food, it didn\u2019t take long to realize that new internal structures needed to be put in place. Plus we had to do it all with a drastically reduced staff.\u201d That\u2019s because like most organizations and businesses impacted by the pandemic, Moisson Granby had to unfortunately lay off a percentage of their workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet Norman and the remaining staff quickly adapted to any challenges because they knew that people in the community were counting on them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with the unknown, which is what the pandemic was in the beginning, you have no choice but to act without hesitation,\u201d says Norman. \u201cSo we immediately went out and bought more food, plus we purchased five new refrigerators and freezers to increase our capacity to store everything. I\u2019m happy to say that we were able to get everything up and running quickly (in under week) to ensure that nobody went away empty handed. Not only that, but we were able to guarantee enough fresh food portions for each family member.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While many small food banks rely mostly on donations and government grants to keep their doors open, Moisson Granby was in a solid position financially at the start of the pandemic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s because they had already raised 70% of their regular annual operating budget through a variety of businesses owned and operated under the SOS D\u00e9pannage banner. This includes a restaurant, a thrift store, a soup kitchen, and a vegetable garden. Proceeds from all of these businesses then get channelled into buying supplies for the food bank (Moisson Granby).<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Norman also appreciated the fact that a helping hand, financial or otherwise, was always there when they needed it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat really kept us going throughout the increased demand of the pandemic was when Food Banks Canada, Food Banks of Quebec, and our provincial government all stepped in and gave us money. We even had people in our community stepping up to make donations through our Moisson Granby website, it was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to the combined support from so many, Moisson Granby has been able to make financial donations last longer to help more people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGranby is a small town with very big hearts. Thanks to the community, we\u2019ve been able to make the money that was provided to us by Food Banks Canada last longer. We\u2019ve spent about half of that money so far on essential things such as buying extra food and gas for our delivery vehicles. Plus our one and only forklift, used for collecting and storing food in our warehouse, recently stopped working. So now we\u2019re looking into buying a new one. It\u2019s important for me to be smart with how we spend any money we get because we don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen in the fall. But it\u2019s also meant that when a small food kitchen in a community two hours away reaches out to ask us for help, I\u2019m able to immediately say yes,\u201d says Norman. \u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling to have the flexibility to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saying \u2018yes\u2019 to people in need has led to Moisson Granby handing out 182,190 kilograms of food in a span of just 4 months.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat works out to about $844,675.46 since March,\u201d explains Norman, who has got every food item tracked down to the penny. \u201cPlus it was important for us to keep all of that spending within Granby. Over the past few months, local stores have even called to thank me for all of the food orders we\u2019ve been giving them. With restaurants being closed, they were especially appreciative. More importantly, they were finally beginning to recognize the critical role that we (food banks) play in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a role that continues to evolve with each passing year and through every new challenge.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the beginning I knew nothing about the pandemic,\u201d admits Norman. \u201cBut that didn\u2019t stop me from reading and watching TV to become better informed. While I had to learn how to handle this particular challenge, this isn\u2019t the first crisis we\u2019ve been faced with. Back in 1998, the great ice storm of Quebec closed our location for a month. Yet we were able to adapt in the moment by transforming the local arena into a giant, temporary food bank. So when COVID-19 happened, I channelled everything I learned in \u201898 and then took it the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Norman, keeping these stories alive is part of the legacy he wants to leave behind.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a way to keep spirits up during the pandemic, we created a story wall at Moisson Granby and called it \u2018Bunker 10-4\u2019. Everybody working that day will then post a picture or a message that demonstrates what we\u2019ve all been experiencing through the pandemic\u2014the good, the bad, and everything in between. These stories are important. I don\u2019t want people to ever forget about them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One story in particular stands out as an example of just how much Moisson Granby gives to people beyond food.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.foodbankscanada.ca\/getmedia\/a36105ab-f514-4382-9faa-6d2b6962a050\/Moisson-Granby-(2).JPG.aspx\")
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