THUNDER BAY -- Glen Girardin knows what it’s like to go hungry.
As the owner of Simpson Street’s European Bakery, he knew he was in a position to do something about a problem plaguing some of Thunder Bay’s most downtrodden residents.
After seeing a Facebook post detailing a pay-it-forward program at Rosa’s Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia, Giradin decided to try it in Thunder Bay.
Started with a $30 donation from his best friend, Girardin has covered one wall of his bakery in colourful Post-it notes, each with an inspirational message.
Customers, with no questions asked, can come in and exchange one of the notes for a slice of fresh-made pizza.
There were plenty of smiles on Thursday morning.
“I thought wow, Thunder Bay is just perfect for that,” he said, detailing why he copied the idea.
“Why not Thunder Bay?”
Girardin took to Facebook himself and asked local foodies if they might be interested in helping the cause.
“There seemed to be a lot of soft support for it and figured I’d give it a try.”
He told his friend about the idea, and after initially deciding against it, was convinced to give it a go.
“He said here’s the first 30 slices. We had 110 slices at the start of the day. We just got caught pretty hard at lunchtime, which was awesome. So it’s wicked to see something that started two days ago from a Facebook post,” Girardin said.
“We just fed about 25 people and it was all through random acts of kindness of strangers. That’s what pay-it-forward is. You could be living cheque-to-cheque and broke for two days and need something to eat.”
He’s hoping those who take advantage of the offer later return and buy pizza for others.
“Next week, when you’ve got some money, you put two stickers on the wall,” Girardin said.
But it’s not required, he added.
Dawn Jourdain volunteers across the street at Street Reach and thinks Girardin has hit on a fantastic idea.
“I think that is awesome. I’m glad that the community is trying to come together somehow,” she said.
For Girardin, it’s a chance to give back.
Formerly homeless himself, he used insurance money paid out after the 2012 flood to buy the 70-year-old bakery.
“I’ve slept in doorways. I’ve slept in Charry Park,” he said.
He’s also hopeful the idea might spread to other businesses in the city.
