Off the Wheaten Path's fortune cookies (photo by Liam Verster/EverythingGP)

By Liam Verster

Fortune Cookie Fundraiser

Fortune cookie sales raises $425 for Helping Hands of Grande Prairie

Feb 21, 2021 | 5:00 AM

Off the Wheaten Path’s fortune cookie fundraising campaign raised nearly $425 in support of Helping Hands of Grande Prairie.

The vegan and gluten free fine food establishment sold the cookies from January 14 to February 14, with all the proceeds from the cookie sales going to support the cause.

Jennifer Farquhar, the founder of Helping Hands of Grande Prairie, says the money has already been collected, and is being used to supply local families in need with fresh, healthy food.

“So what we do currently is we have a Monday hamper day, and so we actually go and purchase items like meat, veggies, dairy, that kind of stuff that families are in need of. And then we put together the hampers on Mondays and we deliver them to them,” says Farquhar.

She says this money was able to help put together about 10 hampers, most of which have already been delivered to local families in need.

Helping Hands also puts together hampers for the Easter and Christmas season, and Farquhar says they have seen a lot more people accessing their services this year, which makes this donation very meaningful.

Meanwhile, Dawn Merrywick-Smith, the owner of Off the Wheaten Path, says they’re fundraising efforts have just begun.

They have already launched a cookie that will be on sale for the rest of the year and will go to support the Grande Prairie Farmer’s Market, where the shop is located, as it’s also a non-profit. Merrywick-Smith says since they’ve been operating out of there for so long, and they consider it a kind of home and family, they wanted to support the market.

They are also continuing with fortune cookie sales, which will see the profits go to Bandaged Paws Animal Rescue Association.

“So we’ll go from now until the end of March, and then continue the marke cookie all year. And after Bandaged Paws, I think in April, we are [selling fortune cookies for] the Alzheimer’s Society,” says Merrywick-Smith.

She says the fundraiser has been a great success so far, with lots of people coming in specifically to buy the cookies, and she hopes to see more people do their part to support the local non-profits in the future.