Colourful, washable, reusable bags will be handed out for free at the Friends In Need Food Bank, thanks to a group of seamstresses trying to create a greener planet.
Fabric Bag Solutions, a group of volunteer seamstresses from across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, donated 50 bags to the local food bank.
The reusable fabric shopping bags were made from donated fabrics as well as textile discards, up-cycled clothing and household items.
“It is wonderful to now help people in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows make the switch from single use plastic shopping bags to reusable bags,” said the group’s founder Joanne Morneau, adding that the bags can be used by food bank clients who have “transportation limitations”.
READ MORE: Almost 500,000 kgs of perishable food distributed from Maple Ridge food bank facility
“People feel honored to receive something made by hand rather than a mass produced bag covered in advertising and corporate logos,” Morneau went on to say.
The group also donated 100 bags to a food bank in Port Coquitlam.
Morneau started Fabric Bag Solutions after going on a vacation in 2018 only to see plastic garbage scattered on remote beaches, and clinging to rocks and bushes.
She founded the group in June, 2019. It is based in Burnaby.
The volunteers follow several easy shopping bag patterns and they are also given free pre-cut shopping bag kits to sew at home.
Since its inception, the group has made and distributed more than 1,600 shopping bags to various food banks across the province.
Their shopping bags are also available for purchase by donation, with the funds raised being used to buy additional sewing supplies.
The group is always looking for new members.
For more information email fabricbagsolution@gmail.com.
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