Service Work for the Young and the Senior

This is our re-introduction to life at  OKG (Okanagan Gleaners) in Oliver, BC. It's been a week of putting names to familiar faces. Before arriving here on site we had stopped at Superstore in Penticton. Here a lady greeted us in a friendly manner leaving us wondering. Did she know us? Had we met before at Gleaners or church? Turns out we met Betty at the Oliver Alliance Church, where we met her again last Sunday. Dave, her husband is involved at the Gleaners where  Jim has been helping him with a variety of maintenance jobs.

We arrived to a full campground on Saturday, which really thinned out by this weekend leaving only three units.

Improvements have been made in the landscaping of their steep banks since the last time we were here.

This week we were blessed with the help of 18 Grade 10 students and four adults from RJC (Rosthern Junior College)  SK. This was their week of applying service to their studies. They tented in the orchard like camping area. A great group of hard working teens.

Monday tasks centered around changing over from soup mixing which had been done the previous two weeks before we arrived, back to processing vegetables. They mixed and packaged soup equivalent to 5.3 million servings and more will be done in June. Mixing is a dusty job so walls and shelves needed dusting, floors swept and washed.

This semi-load of soup mix is ready to be taken to the coast for transport by ship to it's destination.

The refrigerated semi has been storing produce during the mixing process. Even after working with these not so pristeen carrots Annette was still game to make a pot of roasted red pepper and carrot soup. And it was good!

We have enjoyed numerous meals outside. The weather has been great!

After the carrots it was time for parsnips which were also passed the best before date.

Then it was thrilling to work with the first of the new greenhouse grown peppers donated by an Abbotsford grower. Peppers are graded for size, shape (they need 4 bumps on the bottom) all round perfection. Some were huge, others have internal rot which are rejected by their scanner.