Meat in the Street will bring together two things locals love – barbecued meats, and raising money for a local Aldergrove charity.
The June 17 fundraiser, running from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 17 will feature pulled pork sliders made by professional barbecue pitmasters, live DJs, local wine and beer, and lemonade. Across the street at Veronica’s Perogies, there will be deep fried fruit perogies for dessert.
The fundraiser is all in aid of the Starfish Backpack program, run by Rotary and serving four Aldergrove schools.
“Right now, we have 78 packs a week,” said Emma Stewart, one of the organizers of Meat in the Street, along with Veronica Cave of Veronica’s Perogies.
Those backpacks are sent home weekly during the school year on Friday afternoons, to kids who may not be getting enough food at home. They’re packed with food that the kids, and their families, will benefit from.
Putting the packs together is a volunteer effort. Students at Aldergrove Community Secondary in the hairstyle program work with Rotary volunteers weekly to pack everything up.
The food comes from the Otter Co-op and Save-On-Foods, and buyer works to get the program good value every week.
But running the program isn’t cheap, and the recent spike of food inflation is making it that much more difficult.
Right now it costs $60,000 a year to keep those backpacks full, said Stewart.
“It’s a $15,000 difference from last year,” she said, up from $45,0000, despite the fact that they have actually seen a slight decline in the number of students in the program.
That’s why Cave and Stewart teamed up to organize the barbecue event. Visitors will be able to spend $10 to get three sliders, and the proceeds will help fund more backpacks.
“Without the fundraisers, we wouldn’t be able to do this,” said Stewart. “And we don’t want to limit the number of kids we’re able to feed.”
“Emma was the spearhead on this,” said Cave.
As part of the local Rotary Club, she and others are always looking for ways to help, and she jumped on board when Stewart came to her with the idea.
“This is going to be pretty epic,” said Cave.
They’re hoping the event will be a fun kickoff for summer in Aldergrove as well.
The event runs rain or shine, and the Aldergrove Plaza will be fenced for the occasion, but entry is free. Spending $10 gets three sliders and the right to vote on which barbecue pitmaster is making the best pulled pork for the day.
READ ALSO: Starfish program packing backpacks for Aldergrove families in need
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