Here's what you've signed up for. Please view instructions
for information about delivery time, drop-off location, preferences, special instructions, and more.
Meal Train® for Rocky Point Sponsor Family, Max, Emma and Ikuyo
Meal Train® for Rocky Point Sponsor Family, Max, Emma and Ikuyo
Max, 15 and Emma, 17, live with their mother, Ikuyo in high security social housing provided by the government for women and their children who have endured domestic abuse.
Shortly after her husband was incarcerated, Ikuyo was diagnosed with a fairly rapidly progressive form of multiple sclerosis. She is now almost unable to walk, even with a walker, and requires care to accomplish her activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing etc. She is not receiving the level of care support she needs, and it regularly falls to her daughter, Emma to provide the additionally needed care for her mom, as well as being the one to run and manage the household.
They do not own a car and none of them are able to drive. This makes transportation challenging and adds logistical complications to running the necessary errands, like grocery shopping or getting to doctors appointments. Emma takes transit to the Superstore at Metrotown to buy groceries and is limited to the amount she can purchase at once, as she needs to be able to carry it home on transit. This means she has to shop more frequently.
Ikuyo should probably be in a care facility, given the level of care she requires. But her children are not able to care for themselves alone, although they essentially do that now, even though they are still minors. Ikuyo is unable to cook because of her MS, and neither Emma or Max were taught to cook in her place. They really lack a lot of essential life skills, probably because they were either trying to survive in a violent home, or later were dealing with their mom being seriously ill with a progressively debilitating disease. They really have no one to advocate for them, and they don’t know how to do so for themselves.
Emma is also understandably struggling with mental health issues. Eventually, she was unable to attend high school and she is attempting to complete her high school graduation requirements online. It’s not going very well right now, and she could really use a supportive mentor.
Max has essentially looked after himself since his dad was incarcerated when Max was in grade 6. He has faithfully gotten himself up and off to school everyday on his own effort. He does well in school, attends regularly and wants to become a surgeon, like the cardio-thoracic surgeon portrayed on Grey’s Anatomy. He’s also gotten himself a job at the McDonald’s near his home, and he uses his earnings to supplement his diet with extra food, because he’s growing, always hungry and there’s not enough good food available at home. So Max is either working, sleeping or exercising in his room, when he’s not at school or doing homework. He’s a really self-motivated, polite and lovely kid. Given the life he’s had so far, it is to his credit that he is not running with a gang and getting into trouble while sporting a bad attitude. Max is a survivor.
So, because none of them cook, this little family has to eat processed, pre-prepared food, which is less healthy and a lot more expensive than cooking from scratch. Consequently, their food budget doesn’t stretch as far as they need it to, and they are often hungry.
This family has been failed by the government support programs designed to help children and families with issues like food security, and once they aged into high school, Max and Emma fell off the radar for support from the school system as well. The reason their very real and pressing needs are being brought to your attention is because the guidance counsellor from Max and Emma’s former middle school, Tina, checked on the family and found them to be in great need. Tina no longer has any responsibility to them through her job as a school counsellor, but she is also unwilling to watch them suffer and is determined to personally help them. She introduced the family to her good friend and RPCF member, Tannis Lemke, during the early days of Covid, and together they provided cooked meals, groceries, and an apartment sized chest freezer. With a freezer readily available, meals could be pre-made for them and frozen once they were delivered to the family, so that healthy meals would be readily available without a lot of cooking needing to be done by the kids.
Meals CAN be for Lunch or Dinner.
If you are so inclined, include the recipe so that Emma and Max can start cooking for themselves when they start to feel more comfortable in the Kitchen.
In lieu of preparing meals, the family would appreciate Gift cards to Superstore. Also, to aid in grocery shopping, Emma would appreciate a rechargeable Uber account, to be used for transportation to get the groceries home after a shop.
Specific food ideas they mentioned:
Rice
Potatoes
Brussel sprouts
Fried noodles
Cooked chicken
Mashed potatoes
Waffles
Syrup
Milk
Cereal: Crave, Fruit Loops
Pies: apple and pumpkin
Cookies
Healthy snacks that teenagers like to eat
Cheese!!!
They DO NOT eat turkey.
Healthy homemade meals that are packaged up for freezing and that can be thawed and eaten later would be really useful. Some ideas include spaghetti sauce, lasagna, meatballs, Shepherd’s pie, quiches, chili, etc. Clearly writing the instructions for reheating on the meal package itself, using a sharpie, would be very helpful too.
As a gym community, we are a very fortunate bunch. My hope is that we can rally around this little family that has had such a difficult run to date, and really show them some much needed love, care and support. As a group, I think we could make a tremendous impact on the trajectory of Max and Emma’s futures.
Thanks everyone for considering your involvement in this project!...
Rocky Point Gym 1570 Booth Avenue Coquitlam BC V3K1B9 60480925816048092581 View Map
Preferred Drop-Off Time
Pls deliver to the gym on your chosen day. Your item will be picked up and delivered to the family.
People to Cook For
2 Adults, 1 Kid
Special Instructions
**NO TURKEY**
If you are able, please provide a complete balanced meal. To minimize food waste, we are asking that meals be provided on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's with enough for left-overs.
Please only use a container that you do not wish to see again. The dollar store has a great, cheap selection of disposable foil containers and lids.
Using an Sharpie, clearly mark what food item you have provided along with any re-heating/cooking instructions.
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to give you a quick update.
I spoke to Tannis this morning and it has been decided that we are going to put Meal train on hiatus for the time being.
It appears that the family is finding it difficult accepting our help so Tannis and Tina (kids old school counsellor) are going to go away and figure out how to get them to be more accepting of our help and what that might to look like going forward.
Thank you to each and every one of you for putting yourselves out there and jumping in to help. I could not be more grateful for your selflessness and for the kindness you've all shown this family.
See you at the gym!
-Marisa
...
Rice prefernce
ML
January 26, 2021 by Marisa Larmer
Larmer
Hi All,
Quick update....if you are making rice as part of your meal, the family has requested to please use short grain rice as they not like the smell or texture of long grain rice.
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered and continues to volunteer. You have no idea the difference you are making in this family's life.
...
Lasagna's and Cheesecake and Christmas Oh My!
ML
December 23, 2020 by Marisa Larmer
Larmer
Thank you to Kaleigh and Theresa for providing tonights meal and dessert!
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the family today as they were at Ikuyo's doctor's appointment, but a kind soul delivered their meal to them for us.
Kaleigh's lasagna weighed more than my first born and if anyone wants a cheesecake, I hear Theresa is a pro! She won't admit it, but the cheesecake she made looked so good, it almost got "forgot" in my car!
Thank you everyone! You guys are the best!
Merry Christmas!...