Vancouver area teens collect bread and baking for homeless

It's a school club that's all heart and hands. Grade 12 student Kristen Anderson founded "Kitchen on a Mission" in July of 2015.

"I tried at first to go down and hand out sandwiches but realized I couldn't afford to buy the bread every day for this, so I had to rethink my idea.

Anderson was then inspired by an article she read about New York teens collecting leftover restaurant food and feeding the homeless.

She wanted to help thepoorest population here. She went asking for donations in her neighbourhood and the only establishment that said yes was the bakery.

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Anderson and other volunteers from Winston Churchill Secondary set out collecting, not only bread, but Danishes and other baked goodsand dropping them off at shelters under the umbrella of the AtiraWomen's Resource Society.

She knocked on more bakery doors and soon enlisted Cobs, Piast Bakery and two locations of Terra Breads to give them their unsold baked goods for redistribution.

Since itsearly days, the club has grown to five schools and 100students who collect goods for 10different shelters.

Anderson says the group is now able to achieve itsgoal of having $200,000worth of baked goodstransferred a year. She says it helps the shelters to not have to purchase the bread out of their budget.

The club members say their volunteer work is satisfying and eye opening.

"I didn't realize what a community the Downtown Eastside was before going down there each day with my friends. They are such kindhearted people down there.They were giving me advice on my life, to stay in school and listen to my parents. I even had one man play guitar for me, which was really touching because I love to sing."

She's proud of her team and feels assured Kitchen on a Mission will continue even after she graduates and goes away to university. The teens will soon start picking up bread and baking from Price Mart locations.