There are two groups at the Lloyd Ex Fair that combined have over 100 years of serving food at the fair to raise funds to support local programs.
The grilling efforts support youth, food banks, shelter for those in need, and a few other non-profits.
St. Anthony’s volunteers have had a food booth for over 40 years, and for Grace United, its kitchen and dining area have been built up over some 60 years or more.
One of the volunteers with Grace United is Carol Bugiak, who has served in the kitchen since 1966.
“It was here many years before that. I remember coming here before I started volunteering.”
Bugiak says one of the reasons they volunteer is for camaraderie.
“Some of the people who volunteer here may not come to church, but they volunteer because they realize what we do. And we depend on them. We couldn’t run it with just our church family.”
Preparing food in bulk that meets the health inspector’s regulations is a specialized skill.
“We serve a lot of good home-cooked meals.”
There are also the pies. Saskatoon, rhubarb, apple, raisin, cherry, and other pie combinations are prepared in the industrial kitchen at the church, frozen, and then baked fresh every day to be served at the fair.
“We have a crew that comes in during the fair, they go to the church and bake the pies. So, every day, we get a new, fresh supply of pies,” says Bugiak.
The work of the volunteers also includes the over 200 pounds of ground beef that gets prepared to make the taco salad.
“Most of the preparation is done in the church kitchen because it’s a health-approved kitchen.”
The funds raised support things like youth and music programs, a full-time choir director, and a few non-profits.”
“We support Residents in Recovery, the Men’s Shelter, and St. Stephen’s College in Saskatoon, where we train our United Church ministers.”
All of their community spirit thrives on a “get r’ done” mindset.
“The saying that I grew up with in the church was, ‘If you want something done, you ask a United Church lady,'” says the enthusiastic volunteer.
