At their monthly meeting Tuesday morning, the Comox Valley Re/Max Realtors presented the Salvation Army with a year’s supply of soup kitchen funding.
The Salvation Army is responsible for Tuesday lunches at the St. George’s soup kitchen in Courtenay.
The cheque essentially covers the costs for an entire year.
“Our lunches consist of a choice of two sandwiches, three different soups, as well as fruit and yogurt, and a beverage,” said Kevin Elsasser, of the Salvation Army. “We do it all for $1.99 per meal. So this money will cover 4,000 meals, which is almost a full year worth. Last year we budgeted for $8,900. The kettle program will cover any extra costs this year.”
Elsasser estimates it takes approximately 300 volunteer hours of food prep per month to provide the weekly service.
The partnership with Re/Max has been a long-standing arrangement.
“We’ve been doing this for at least eight years now,” said a Re/Max spokesperson. “We just thought that it reached out to people that are in need. It has nothing to do with buying houses… to us it was just a matter of reaching out to address a need.
“We are just happy to know that on Tuesdays, these people have a roof over their heads and a place to have a good meal, and we can help make that happen.”
Re/Max agents have a deduction taken from their paycheques on a monthly basis, and during their December meeting every year, they present the Salvation Army with a cheque.
“It’s a collaboration of all 74 Re/Max agents throughout the Comox Valley, that all collectively put money,” said the spokesperson.