iN PHOTOS: Okanagan pilot flies to Castlegar to grab essentials for local food banks

Families who count on the food banks in Oliver and Osoyoos won’t be without milk or cereal for infants this week thanks to a special delivery by Danny Iosch.

As shelves were going bare across B.C. this week, the Oliver pilot learned local food banks were running out of essential supplies.

“People are hoarding for no reason,” Iosch said. “It kind of got me to thinking, ‘why do people react this way?’”

He believes essential supplies ran out so quickly as a result of panic buyers who “take it upon themselves to believe that there is no end in sight,” but added most people are not like that.

“This is the actions of a few and not the many. Unfortunately it affects the many in ways that we don’t realize,” he said.

“Toilet paper’s one thing but when I hear staples for families like milk, diapers and formula run out that’s when I get serious. So I decided to take the resources that I had and do good.”

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Yesterday, Nov. 19, Iosch arranged to fly from Penticton to Castlegar to pick up milk, pablum, which is an infant cereal and other essentials from a Safeway that hasn’t been depleted by panic shoppers.

He just earned his private pilot licence one month ago. He used his own plane and said the costs were covered by Second City Print Solutions from Calgary, as well as his brother Peter Iosch who donated $100 for fuel.

It was a beautiful day for a flight, he said, especially while above the clouds.

However, landing in Castlegar “as always is no easy task. There’s two sets of winds – one blowing north and one blowing south – so the landing was adventurous.”

Upon arrival, Iosch was thankful that the grocery store delivered his order to him at the airport.

“We collected over 20 jugs of milk, three cases of diapers and two cases of formula, among some other sundries, and split it between the Oliver and Osoyoos food banks.”

The trip back to Penticton was also a breeze, he said.

The team at the Oliver Food Bank was grateful for the delivery.

“It makes a really big difference,” said volunteer Pat Monahan.

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Before the milk arrived from Castlegar, the food bank was told their regular milk order is not going to be fulfilled for next week.

“Thanks to them we’re going to be able to give milk to the families,” Monahan said. 

Although the Oliver Food Bank will have enough milk this week for every family in need, there is not enough to share with individual clients or couples, she said.

– This article was corrected at 5 p.m. as the original referred to the Safeway grocery store in Castlegar as Save-On Foods.

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