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A woman who lost 80 pounds donated 80 pounds of carrots to a local community food center in Stratford.
Published May 15, 2024 • 2 minute read
The local community food center recently received a donation of 80 pounds of carrots from a local resident to symbolize her weight loss journey. Pictured is Julie Docker Johnson, Community Connector for The Local. (Corey Smith/Beacon Herald)
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One person's weight loss journey is another person's bag of carrots.
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After losing 80 pounds, a local resident decided to honor his life-changing feat by donating 80 pounds of vegetables to Stratford's local community food centre.
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“The symbolism of it all is huge,” said local community connector Julie Docker Johnson. “Something pretty amazing is happening, but it's a big deal for me.”
It started when Docker Johnson was making phone calls to find forms on someone's behalf as part of his job. She spoke to a woman who works at a partner organization and later expressed her gratitude in her email.
Docker Johnson told her to contact him if she needed anything. So the woman, who asked to remain anonymous for this article, did something better.
Docker-Johnson said she had planned to donate 100 pounds after losing 100 pounds, but decided to donate 80 pounds and use that as motivation to lose more weight before donating again. That's what it means.
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One morning, a woman brought a 3-pound bag of carrots to The Local, and it took her 20 minutes to give most of it to the weekly Friday lunch customers and market shoppers.
“It's free food, and it's free great food,” Docker-Johnson said. “This woman's journey is about changing the way she eats for her body and her well-being.
“A healthy diet is more expensive than an unhealthy diet. Often people don't have that option and have to eat what they can afford.”
Carrot donations are part of what makes The Local special, Docker-Johnson said. Last week, someone donated two large boxes of asparagus that she grew in her garden. It is common for The Local to obtain an excess of fresh fruits and vegetables during the growing season. The asparagus was distributed in small bags, as is done with food donations.
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This Monday, Simple Dreams co-founders Richard and Ruth Kneider appeared at The Local's public dinner and treated guests to ice cream sundaes.
“You hear things all the time that are very scary and unpleasant, but when you get in here, it's not that unpleasant,” Docker-Johnson said. “People expect it to be bad, they expect it to be downtrodden, they expect it to be sad, and it's far from that.”
The Local, one of 15 community food centers across Canada, relies on more than 100 volunteers to run its programs.
There may be someone who can help you with just a phone call.
“We may not be able to donate 80 pounds of carrots, but we can come here on Wednesday and prepare something for people to have a delicious lunch on Friday,” Docker-Johnson said. . “No matter your situation, you are welcome here.”
cosmith@postmedia.com
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