After losing their delivery van in the Boles Fire and just in time for turkey deliveries to community Christmas basket programs, Great Northern got word that major funding was designated for the purchase of a new refrigerated food van from an anonymous donor through the Community Disaster Relief Fund of Shasta Regional Community Foundation. Community Food Program manager, Renee Casterline couldn’t be happier. “My goal for the purchase of a new vehicle was to exceed the cargo capacity of our old van and to get insulation and a refrigeration unit installed to support safe delivery of frozen meat and fresh produce around the county” she said. “And with this vehicle, we achieved those goals.”
Faced with a gap in pricing for the new van between contributions from Shasta Regional Community Foundation’s anonymous donor and Great Northern’s insurance settlement for the older van, Casterline approached the Weed Rotary Club for help. “The Weed Rotary President Leon Thompson had been in touch with me since the fire asking how they could help our program,” reported Casterline. “When this purchase opportunity came up they responded generously and the van arrived in Weed a short week later. This is the definition of “community” in our “community food program”. It was put into service immediately.”
This holiday season just got a lot brighter for those in need of food in Siskiyou County thanks to the generosity of the anonymous donor and the Weed Rotary Club!