Food train rolls on at B&B Market

B&B Market is the epicenter of giving in the Cloquet area right now, as many residents grapple with losing jobs or income as the state responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to owners John and Kim Lind, it all started last week when Lenny Conklin bought 100 pounds of ground beef to "pay it forward" on Tuesday, March 24. They posted a photo on social media to get the word out, then Tom McConnell from Cloquet Flooring came in and chipped in $500 toward the cause.

The donations have been fast and furious ever since. As of Wednesday, April 1, they'd collected close to $15,000 in donations from community members, folks from far away with ties here, business owners, unions, community clubs and more. It's people paying it forward at their beloved community store, telling the Linds to use the money to pay for food for those who don't have money right now.

"It's been remarkable, it's just such a giving community," said a very tired but happy John Lind last week.

The need is also very high, said Kim, showing off a stack of gift certificates at her desk in the back office last Friday. She explained that as quickly as donations are coming in, people are asking for help.

John shared a story Friday about a young man who walked three miles to B&B Market last week. Lind said the high school student lives with his mom, who is a single parent, and a little brother.

"We gave him a $30 certificate and he says, 'I don't need all this,'" Lind said. "I told him, 'you walked three miles, grab some more stuff.' We ended up giving him like $70 worth of groceries. I was gonna give him a ride home but it was really busy and our 7-Up manager tells me he'll do it."

This Wednesday, John said he was outside the store on Big Lake Road and here comes the same kid, carrying a baby. When John asked what he needed, he said nothing, he just came to buy some beef jerky because he likes it.

"It's funny, the 7-Up manager donated $60 yesterday," John said. "He told me it was in case that kid comes back - he was so impressed by this him. So I said if he needed anything and he says 'no.' 'How about for the baby?' I asked him. He said he could use more Similac, so we gave him three cans, just over $60 worth, and I gave him a ride home."

John has story after story about the people helped by the donations, including an elderly woman in rural Esko who was crying on the phone. "It just meant so much to her that she was able to get food," he said.

He has just as many stories about the donors. A woman from England made a donation through Venmo. Someone else called in from South Dakota. Mickey and Samita Hunter donated $100 in honor of Mickey's grandparents, Ray and Gertie Peacha, who built the store in 1959, when it was known as Ray's Superette.

"They would be proud of what happened to their little store," the couple wrote on a note that they left with their donation.

The "food train" as John calls it - crediting Conklin for the idea and the name - is still chugging along, although its methods of delivery have been changing as the days go by.

After going through 500 pounds of (discounted) hamburger over the first two days last week, John said they switched to $20 gift certificates for in-store purchases of food and milk, no tobacco, gas or energy drinks allowed. On Saturday, they switched to pre-packed boxes of food.

John said they changed to boxes because there were too many people in the small store, and it was tough to maintain the prescribed social distancing of 6 feet or more. Now people just have to come in, sign a paper, grab a box and leave, he said. Each box has $20 to $25 worth of food in it, and the contents depend on what they have in supply.

"Today we did several different things: summer sausage, chicken breasts and chicken wings, some Cheetos for a treat, a bread item," he said, explaining that if they run out of bread they'll put in buns or something else. "If we have enough milk, we put that in too."

They also delivered about 35 boxes to the school's backpack program yesterday.

The food train just keeps rolling along.

"Come in and get a box if you need it, or you know someone else who needs it," John said. "We're still going strong."