‘Queens Of Heart’ Teams Up With Dolma, Hub City Foodies On Food Box Program
MONCTON – Queens of Heart, a non-profit initiative in Moncton, has teamed up with Dolma Food and community group Hub City Foodies for a new program that will offer meals to families in need.
The ‘You Buy A Box, We Give A Box’ campaign launched on Wednesday, with 175 boxes of food for sale. For each box of food a customer buys, Hub City Foodies, a group created by chef Jason Gallant to promote local chefs, restaurants and brewers, will give a box to a family in need through Queens of Heart.
The boxes cost $130 each and include enough food for a three-course meal for four people. The ingredients are locally sourced and provided by Dolma Food, whose business includes specialty grocery stores in Moncton and Dieppe. The recipes and instructions are provided by Gallant, as well as foodies Ashley Paige and Rob Stokes.
The boxes are available for purchase via Eventbrite, with set pick-up dates.
Queens of Heart co-creator Diani Blanco says she was excited when Gallant came to her with the idea because it will allow families to make and eat meals together, and the kids can help too.
“I’m Dominican, so everything is about food and getting the family together. This is perfect because these families can get a little bit of a special moment together,” she said. “They can just bring the box at home and…feel like they’re at the restaurant, but they did it together as a family.”
Blanco says the fact that two families will be getting the same box will create a special connection.
“Somebody else is going to have the same box, and their family is going to enjoy the same thing that your family is enjoying, so it’s like you’re connected to something greater in the community. It means something.”
Blanco says the partnership between a non-profit initiative like Queens of Heart, a business like Dolma Food, and chefs from Hub City Foodies shows a strong community spirit.
“We always talk about how great our community is…so we’re just showing that right now,” she said. “It’s something really special because we always thought about how connected we are and then we see it. “
Helping Single Parents
Blanco started Queens of Heart with friend Alicia Ismach at the beginning of the pandemic to provide food and support for struggling single parents. A single mom herself, Blanco knows what it’s like to be struggling to buy food and pay bills.
“I’ve been there. I remember the first few months I became a single mother, I was struggling with food a lot. I didn’t know where to go and who to ask, and you feel ashamed if you ask for help,” she said. “You feel like you’re supposed to have every answer, you’re supposed to make everything right because you’re a mom. You’re supposed to be the superwoman.”
She said she remembers cooking for her two boys but never eating with them. One of her sons pointed it out.
“Inside I was crying because, I was like, I’m not eating with you because I want to make sure you guys eat. And the leftovers, that’s what I was eating,” she said. “So I know the feeling…I don’t want anybody to feel the way I felt.”
Before Queens of Heart launched, Blanco used to buy extra food during her grocery runs to put into boxes meant to help other single parents.
“But when the pandemic happened, it was like a big demand,” the youth worker said. “And I was really lucky that I still had my job as an essential worker.”
“I was like, ‘okay, this is bigger than me.’ I need the community to come and get together and working as one,” she said.
Queens of Heart relies on donations from the community. So far, they’ve delivered hundreds of food boxes for parents in need, Blanco said.