Enzo Federico
VFR: Enzo, tell us about yourself.
Enzo Federico: I've been a retiree since April 2020, just a few weeks after the global pandemic was declared. This was after 42 years of working as an IT professional. My original plans were to travel in the summer after retirement, but those were put on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
But, before that, I came out to Vancouver from Toronto way back in 1981. It was supposed to be temporary, but here I am four decades later. I just fell in love with the city being close by to so many outdoor recreational opportunities in the mountains, forests, and oceans.
In those 40+ years, I've tried to make the most of living on the West Coast – skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, running, and cycling. I still enjoy most of these activities into my 60s now, especially cycling which is much easier on my knees and other joints. In the past 10 years, I've been on a few cycling tours in Italy and the UK of 1-2 weeks in length. With travel restrictions over the past couple of years, I stayed closer to home. Last summer, I did a 10-day bicycle tour up the Sunshine Coast to Powell River and Lund, returning via Vancouver Island to Nanaimo. In between, I travelled through some of the Northern Gulf Islands (Texada, Quadra, and Cortes), visiting many friends and family along the way.
VFR: You've been picking up food rescues consistently since October 2020. What motivates you to get involved in your community and give back the way you do?
EF: I had first heard of Vancouver Food Runners a few months earlier, but was working on a couple of other projects during the summer of 2020 before finally signing up as a Food Rescue Hero in the fall of 2020.
I have been quite fortunate to never have experienced food insecurity myself. We never had much money in my family growing up with five children in a working class family. My father was the sole bread-winner, and my mother made sure we never went hungry. It was quite an eye opener for me to read about food security challenges and how they worsened when the pandemic hit us in early 2020.
I had been retired for a few months by the fall of 2020, so thought I would see if I could help by doing my small part to help the VFR team with their mission, which really resonated with me. I am so impressed with what they’ve been able to accomplish in just a couple of years now, and how it easily fits into my lifestyle in being able to help out. I have a weekly food rescue, and pick up additional ad-hoc rescues as time permits. The little app on my phone makes it all so easy, and most of my rescues take less than an hour. It really makes me feel like that hour is a great investment of my time, when I see the appreciation on the faces of the people I interact with – both the ones making the food donations as well as those receiving them.
VFR: What's your favourite food?
EF: Well, I grew up in an immigrant Italian household, with my parents moving to Canada just a year before I was born. So, it has to be Italian food! My mom was an amazing cook, and if I had to pick any favourites, it would be her homemade gnocchi and also polenta. Those would be mostly winter dishes and were sure to warm us all up, besides just filling our tummies!
VFR: What is your favourite food rescue and why?
EF: They are all pretty great, but I especially like the weekly rescues I've been doing. Last year, I had a regular Friday afternoon run from the South Vancouver Food Hub to Peace Church on 52nd Ave. Over the past few months, I've been doing a food rescue from Salvation Army on Fraser Street to St. Augustine’s Church in Marpole on Wednesday mornings. These rescues are great, as I develop a bit of a relationship with the people working at both the pickup and drop off locations.
One of my favourite other rescues is one I've done a few times from Backstage Café in Burnaby. It is run by a dear friend of mine, chef Benji Chu, who I had not seen too often since the start of the pandemic. He has put me to work a couple of times in helping to put the finishing touches on the 40 delicious hot meals he donates from time to time (see profile picture).
VFR: Do you have a memorable VFR "moment"? If so, please tell us about it.
EF: During the pandemic, I love to see how many people and organizations have "made lemonade out of lemons." One of my early food rescues in early December of 2020 was from the BCAA Head Office in Burnaby. They had just made the decision to have all their employees work exclusively from home, following the Provincial Health Order issued in November. This forced the shutdown of their cafeteria, which had a huge inventory of canned goods and other staples. They made a quick call to VFR to make sure this would not go to waste. I've never had my RAV4 so full to the brim, and I believe 1 or 2 more vehicles were required to haul everything out that day. The folks at A Loving Spoonful in the Downtown Eastside were so happy.
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