An increasingly popular community event, Meat in the Street, is back next weekend in Aldergrove, with the goal of contributing to the local Starfish Pack program that supports students experiencing food insecurity.
Due to redevelopment of the Aldergrove Plaza, however, this year鈥檚 event 鈥� on Saturday, June 28 鈥� will shift to the Royal Canadian Legion from noon 'til 4 p.m., with what organizers promise will be ample parking, plus space to feature five pitmasters and more.
This year, pitmasters will include last year鈥檚 winner Double D BBQ, the 2023 winner Big Dog BBQ, Smokin鈥� Gobblers with their special Turkey sliders, along with Mad Cow BBQ, and Hog Shack.
Sliders will be $5 each, and cash is preferred. Plus this year鈥檚 event will also feature the legion鈥檚 concession stand offering non-alcoholic drinks and treats by donation, yard games, live music, flower bouquets for purchase, and a virtual-reality game demonstration.
Last year, the event was attended by about 900 people, sold 862 sliders, and raised $4,800 towards the family-sized Starfish backpacks given out every weekend during the school year.
Although still relatively new, Meat in the Street is becoming a cherished community tradition headed up by two community members: realtor Emma Stewart and restaurant owner Veronica Cave from Veronica鈥檚 Gourmet Perogies.
Talking about the motivation behind this fundraiser, Stewart shared how they wanted to do a summer kickoff event in 2022. Brainstorming ideas, a barbecue fundraiser felt like the right fit.
As members of the Aldergrove Rotary Club (Stewart also volunteers with the Starfish Pack program), supporting the food program was a natural choice for both of them, said Stewart.
Awareness of rising food costs and growing demand for the program helped them decide to contribute net profit from Meat in the Street to Starfish, she explained.
Aldergrove's Starfish Pack program was piloted in April 2015 by the Aldergrove Rotary Club to provide backpacks filled with nutritious foods for students and their families every Friday, so they had food to eat throughout the weekends.
Each pack costs approximately $700 and provides food for a family of four for the school year. Since the launch of Starfish in Aldergrove, thousands of local children 鈥� and their families 鈥� have received help, said Stewart.
The program works in partnership with three elementary and one middle school in the community.
"We鈥檝e distributed 110 family-sized packs by the end of this school year, the highest it has ever been,鈥� said Stewart.
With growing awareness of the fundraiser and its cause, more sponsors are getting on board with the event.
鈥淓ach year, we donate net proceeds from the event to the program and having sponsors means more funds go towards the fundraiser,鈥� said Cave.
Packed by students for students
Each week, students from the hairdressing program at the Aldergrove Community Secondary volunteer to help pack the 110 weekly bags.
鈥淲e started this [school] year at just over 100 packs, rising to the current 110. When finished, we will have packed for 34 weeks,鈥� said George Bryce, secretary and former president of Aldergrove Rotary Club.
By the end of this school year, an estimated total of 3,600 packs will have been distributed, he added.
According to Bryce, the need for food packs has grown in the past three years. Reliance on food banks is increasing. Last year, 3,684 individuals received help from the food bank, compared to 3,006 in 2023, data from 黑马磁力 Sources food bank shows.
