Church break-ins lead to damage, theft of community kitchen food in Grand Falls-Windsor

Laurie Ballard of the Grand Falls-Windsor Community Kitchen wants to see those responsible for the theft of food in their storage facility brought to justice. (Troy Turner/CBC)

Volunteers at the Grand Falls-Windsor Community Kitchen are feeling deflated this week after food was stolen — not once, but twice — from their storage facility.

"We're not about hurting people or not about doing anything wrong. We're about giving back, and we don't care who it is. We will help them if we can. And that's what hurts most," says kitchen executive director Laurie Ballard.

Two nights in a row, thieves broke into the kitchen — located in the St. Alban's Anglican Church — and took food earmarked for seniors and the needy. The first break-in by two people, took place at around 4:45 a.m. on Monday; the second was 24 hours later, and included an extra person.

A large quantity of items, including frozen turkeys, was taken, and damage to the church is expected to cost between $3,000 and $4,000 to repair.

St. Alban's Anglican Church is located on a quiet street in Grand Falls-Windsor. (Troy Turner/CBC)

The realization of the robbery hit hard Monday morning.

"Everybody went quiet," Ballard said.

"It was a shock to the system that someone would come into a church in the first place, but come in and steal food that belongs to seniors and stuff. I'm sure they had parents and still got parents that are seniors in it, and it's just not right."

When volunteers reviewed surveillance video of the robbery, they discovered the perpetrators had left the premises only minutes before the community kitchen volunteers showed up.

"It took the life right out of all of us and stuck a knife … where it hurt," Ballard said. "It's going to take us a while to get back to being able to come into a building in the morning, feel safe to trust that our stuff is going to be there when we come back."

She has a message for those responsible.

"This is about a bunch of men, old and young, not willing to get a job for themselves and get a life for yourselves and clean yourselves up," Ballard said.

"It makes me so angry that this town has turned into what it has turned into when it comes to this stuff. Everybody's being robbed all over Grand Falls-Windsor."

Rev. Robin Trevors is an Anglican minister in Grand Falls-Windsor. He's upset by the recent theft and vandalism at St. Alban's Anglican Church. (Troy Turner/CBC)

Rev. Robin Trevors has been an Anglican minister in Grand Falls-Windsor for the past six years.

"I wasn't expecting it," he said. "We had a joint service with the three congregations the day before, which was absolutely beautiful worship. And then to wake up on Monday morning to a break-in and, and things missing from your church, and from the volunteers and the organization of the community kitchen. It was really devastating that morning to get up and see."

While the church never stores money inside, it will install a new security system and has already improved the locks on the doors.

"It's a very sad thing when folks feel that it would be appropriate to break in to a church and steal," Trevors said.

"I'm hoping that with the security system that we're going to have to put in now, and the different locks and deadbolts and all of this stuff, that we've beefed up our security enough that it would slow them down enough that someone would see them and be able to have people brought to justice."

The RCMP did not provide anyone for an interview on this incident. In a prepared release, it said the investigation is ongoing.

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