From receiving support to giving back: Donna Davis’ journey at Greener Village
- Suzanne Shah
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
On March 18, Donna Davis stood inside Greener Village on Riverside Drive to help pack food boxes for the Fredericton community.
Greener Village serves more than 2,200 client families each month, providing roughly 120,000 meals, while also offering programs such as grocery boxes, a learning kitchen and community partnerships.
For Davis, the space is no longer just support; it is purpose.
“We volunteer all the time. We come here and volunteer every bit we can, because we're so thankful,” she said. “It feels nice to be able to give back to the community that helped us out so much.”
However, for Davis, her journey at Greener Village didn’t start without hesitation. When Davis first walked into Greener Village, she was hesitant about her capabilities.
“I cried a lot because I thought I was a failure,” she said.
Nearly 10 years later, Davis is still walking through those same doors, but now she is the one helping others.
A difficult beginning
Davis remembers sitting at the table with her husband, both overwhelmed after losing their ability to work due to injuries.
“We had both become disabled from our jobs, we couldn't do our jobs anymore and we were fighting for disability claims and it was hard to decide, where do we go next?”
Their biggest concern was “keeping a roof over our heads” and medicine to help them cope with their situation.
“That was our biggest worry. How are we going to pay for our mortgage every single month?”
Walking into Greener Village
Davis, along with her husband, was encouraged to visit the Greener Village Food Bank in Fredericton.
“So we talked to our MLA, Jeff Carr, at that time, and he made this suggestion of coming over here to Greener Village and talking to people here and to see what they could do for us,” she said.
She still remembers the moment that changed everything
“Walking through that door with my head down because I was feeling so embarrassed that I had to ask for help,” she said.
“We didn't feel that we were to blame for our situation.”
Living through hardship
At the time, daily life was difficult.
“We'd struggle out of bed because of physical injuries. We would get up and have a cup of coffee,” she said. “I think we were both really, really depressed,” she said.
She remembers that it took almost a year to shift how she saw herself, to ”put my head up and say, ‘I'm not a failure. I didn't fail me. The system has failed me.’”
Seeing herself in others
Now, she recognizes the same emotions in people arriving for the first time.
“People come in that door and [there are] heads down and they're nervous, and they're scared and you feel that little bit of embarrassment,” she said.
But she also sees change happen.
“By the time the cooking class is done, they're one of us,” she said.
A full-circle feeling
Even now, Davis says her journey is ongoing.
“We're still not on the other side,” she said.
However, her connection to Greener Village has changed how she sees herself.
“I feel successful from going from asking to help, to [being] able to help as well,” she said.
For others facing similar struggles, Davis said, ”Don't be afraid to ask for help. That's why we're here.”
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