Two weeks after being stuck without power in Dufferin County, people in the Orangeville area are getting help restocking the fridge.
Andrew Mallouk braved the cold today to get his ice storm compensation.
“I'm coming to get my gift card,” he says. “My neighbour phoned me up and told me there was a gift card program - $50 if your electricity was out for more than two days.”
The province has been working with communities that were badly hit by the ice storm. In Orangeville, today was the first day the cards were available.
“I ask for some id just to confirm that they do live in Dufferin County,” says Juli Griffin, with the County of Dufferin housing division. “We then determine how many people live in their household. One person gets $50 and a family gets $100.”
The cards are specifically for Shoppers Drug Mart stores. For some, this kind of assistance is a relief.
“It'll go to buy the food that we had to throw out because the kids came home and said, ‘Oh you can't use it because it's been off for more than four days,’ so we reluctantly threw it out,” says resident George Terry. “And I wish we hadn't, but it's better than being sick.”
Others say the cards might not go far enough.
“It doesn't get you very far,” says Kevyn Bois. “I have a family of five, and I went grocery shopping today and that alone cost me $150, so $100 is not really going to get us very far.”
But for Keith Palmer, the director of community services, any little bit helps.
“We are doing our best to provide some savings to folks to replace some of the food they have lost,” he says. “But I've got to be honest, $50 is $50 and depending on who you are or what you had or what you lost, it is difficult to say if it is enough or not.”
There are just under 400 gift cards for this region, and they are hoping to help about 200 families.
