A charity that diverts food that would otherwise be wasted into the hands of the less fortunate says a pair of thieves ripped the batteries out of several of its trucks parked outside its North York warehouse last weekend, disrupting its operations.
Second Harvest spokesperson Tammy Johnson said that on Dec. 10 at just before 8 p.m., two male suspects driving an older model Dodge Caravan pulled up to their warehouse at 1450 Lodestar Road, in the Steeprock Drive and Dufferin Street/Allan Road area.
“Within 6 minutes (thieves) had skillfully removed three batteries from our trucks,” she said.
In a surveillance video provided by Second Harvest, one suspect wearing a hood and another wearing a baseball cap inspect the undercarriage of a truck. After a few minutes, a battery is wedged out from its emplacement and placed in the back of the minivan.
“This impacted the scheduled delivery of fresh items that would typically be distributed to the communities in need the following Monday,” Johnson said.
The holiday season is a busy time for charities, and Second Harvest is no exception.
The charity says it collects turkeys and other protein dishes for families who cannot afford them during the month of December.
Stolen semi-truck batteries are sold to scrappers, who recycle the lead inside the battery’s cells. Scrapyards can pay about $20-$30 per battery, meaning the thieves in this instance disabled food delivery for thousands of people to reap a handsome bounty of about $60-$90.
Second Harvest says it delivers food to 253 agencies across Toronto and other food “hubs” in the province, providing enough food for as much as 30,000 meals per day.
