On Christmas Eve 1994, "Carla" immigrated to Canada from the Middle East.
At the time, her husband had already been living in Richmond for four years, sending part of his paycheque back home each month to his wife and three children.
When he accumulated enough money from what was left of his paycheque, he sent for his family.
"When we moved here, we had nothing," said the petite dark-haired Carla (a pseudonym). "I couldn't work right away because I couldn't speak English. I had $35 in my pocket."
Her husband's salary at the time barely covered the monthly bills for a family of five. Carla's children were four, five and six at the time.
For four months, Carla worked diligently to learn English so she could get a job to help pay expenses. But costs mounted and the young family had very little money left over each month for food.
A friend told her about the Richmond Food Bank.
"There is no such thing as a food bank or social services in my country," she added.
"I didn't want to take anything from the country that welcomed us - I wanted to work for my food."
However, the welfare of her young children convinced her to swallow her pride. She clearly remembers returning on the bus laden with grocery bags filled with nutritious food.
"I'll never forget, it was a Wednesday and I stood in line and the staff at the food bank were so kind to me," Carla said over coffee.
"Even though I was treated with respect and kindness, I felt like I was taking advantage."
Carla went for three Wednesdays in a row.
"Then, I got a job washing hair and so I never went back," she said proudly.
"I am so thankful that the food bank was there for my family in our time of need."
Three years later, Carla and her husband bought a three-bedroom townhouse.
Today, she is a successful hair stylist with her own salon and 10 employees.
"The food bank was there when I needed them with fresh vegetables and fruits, and fresh bread," she said.
"Because of the food bank I was able to feed my children very healthy food."
Two of those kids are now studying medicine at university.
All these years later, Carla still remembers fondly how nice the volunteers at the Richmond Food Bank treated a new immigrant.
"I was looking at a head of lettuce, and I was too shy to take it," Carla said. "A sweet volunteer said to me, 'Take it honey' - I never took anything for free before in my life and yet I wasn't made to feel bad about it."
For more information about the RFB, call 604-271-5609 or visit www. richmondfoodbank.org.
