A weekly lunch for those in need has turned into a cleanup of the Courtenay River swamp, which the organizer hopes will become an annual event.

Rob McBride, owner of the Phat Parrot family food truck in the parking lot of the former Courtenay Car Center on 5th Street, supplies hot dogs to people struggling with homelessness every Sunday at Simms Millennium Park. He started “ hot dogs for the homeless ” after his food truck was vandalized in November, shortly after moving it to Courtenay from the Comox Marina. People who gather at the park have offered to keep an eye on the truck. Three weeks later, they had identified the culprits – a few children – whom they said would no longer be a problem.

“I realized these guys are like us, down to a bad decision from… who knows,” McBride said.

After noticing the dismal condition of the quagmire, he offered a free lunch ticket to anyone who wanted to pick up a bag of trash. McBride then came up with the idea of ​​cleaning up the quagmires. On April 4, volunteers cleaned up the shoreline from the corner of Fifth and Comox Road to the White Whale Restaurant. They picked up enough garbage – bikes, shopping carts, tires and even a transmission – to fill a flatbed truck. McBride’s staff, namely his children, helped by cutting the mulberry trees.

The Phat Parrot provided lunch and T-shirts (printed by Aero Art) and the City of Courtenay provided garbage bags. The city also provided a front loader and a garbage truck.

McBride also gives Courtenay Coun a shout. David Frisch and his family for helping with the spring cleanup.

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