Moncton group seeks space to feed the less fortunate

Dozens of Moncton-area residentsare helping to plan and cook meals forthe less fortunate this week after a local soup kitchen and food bank closed for vacation for the first two weeks of August.

But the Feed the Community campaign still needs somewhere to distribute the meals and to store the donated food and clothing that has been pouring in fromindividuals and businesses.

OrganizerCharles Burrell, of the non-profit organization The Humanity Project,believes the owners of many sites are worried about being heldliable if something goes wrong.

"We live in an age todaywhere we are more concerned with the fear of liability than taking care of our fellow human beings and doing what is right," he told CBC's Information Morning Moncton on Thursday.

What happens if someone starves? Who's liable for that?- Charles Burrell, organizer

"Some people, they have good intentions and they would love to help, but they're scared, like I said, of liability issues, of, 'Well, what happens if this happens? What happens if that happens?'But my question is, what happens if someone starves? Who's liable for that?"

Burrell saysFeed the Community volunteers have already served hundreds of meals, but at a number of different temporary locations.

Theyhave used theparking lot of a local business on weekends, for example,but can't use that space during the week when the business is open.

They also approached the City of Monctonabout usingthe Highfield Square property, but can't use that space all ofthe time either, said Burrell.

He hopes to find a more permanent home for the campaign until the soup kitchen and food bank reopen.

Burrell says hestarted getting calls from homeless people and the working poor asking for help almost immediately after those services temporarily closed.

"We had one gentleman the other day, who said to us, after he found out we were doing the meals, he thanked us because he had hardly eaten in a week," Burrellsaid.

The group fed between 50 and 100 children in a single day this week, he added.