Volunteers get groceries for Ottawa woman trapped by trucker protest

An Ottawa woman who has been unable to get her groceries because of the ongoing "Freedom Convoy" protest keeping Ottawa's downtown core paralyzed has had some help from her neighbours.

Debbie Nagora lives with a disability and told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron she usually has her groceries delivered, but the store can't get to her with the protest going on.

"I went to the grocery store on Bank and Somerset and they won't deliver and they don't know when they're going to start delivering because of this mess," she says. "It leaves me not knowing how to get food. I tried to get my son. He won't come down in this mess. There's no way of getting down here, it's all blocked off."

Nagora said walking is difficult for her, but she was able to make it to a nearby corner store to buy Pizza Pops and some ginger ale for dinner Monday.

"I'm on a limited budget, so I can't be shopping at a corner store."

She said the noise level of the trucker protest against COVID-19 mandates has been a constant problem.

"It's unreal. It's like trains are going by every 10 minutes and when one gets going, they all get going."

Her story resonated with residents, who reached out with offers to help.

One man, named Brandon, told CFRA that he would be helping Nagora with her groceries.

"We've got to take care of each other while all of this is going on," he said.

Brandon said he saw a tweet by CTV Ottawa's Graham Richardson about Nagora's plight.

From a viewer just now: “I am disabled and live within blocks of parliament. I’ve been trying to get groceries for days now and because of the mess down here I am unable to have them delivered…I haven’t had food for days now” #ottnews

— Graham Richardson (@grahamctv) January 31, 2022

"I got in touch with Graham, who put me in touch with Debbie, and a few buddies of mine are going to get her what she needs," he said. "These are stressful times for everybody, but I have a lot of privilege; I'm able bodied and can take care of what I need to take care of, in terms of getting groceries. I can't imagine the stress that this is inflicting on people who are less mobile and have less access to essential services."

Brandon said he was just happy to help.

"Ottawa is a fantastic city and Centretown in particular is a really tight-knit community. We take care of our own down here. It really isn't that big of a deal and anyone else would do the same for me. Just happy to be able to help out," he said.