‘The Beefy Weiner’ food truck raising money for N.S. couple who lost their home in fire

A Maritime family receives an outpouring of support after losing everything in a house fire.

A Nova Scotia food truck is raising money for two people who recently lost their home in a fire.

The Beefy Weiner, an Elmsdale-based food truck, said its customers Mike and Kristine Hanlon lost their home in a fire on July 11 in a Facebook post.

“This week all regular hotdog sales will go directly to supporting these lovely humans,” the post says. “Come on down and be a part of helping someone in our community.”

Mike Hanlon says he’s astounded by the support his family received.

“It’s hard to say into words because thank you is not enough for all of it. It’s hard to feel like anyone deserves that much support,” says Hanlon.

“Everybody is jumping on board.”

Mike Doiron, the owner of the Beefy Weiner, said other businesses chipped in to buy hot dogs for customers but many people turned them down to donate to the pot.

“We can’t do a lot for a lot of people; we help out when we can,” says Doiron. “We have been blessed so many times with this business, it’s crazy so we could do something this time.”

Other businesses and community members are helping with donations and services, Hanlon said.

On Wednesday the Beefy Weiner raised $650 to support the couple.

“I didn’t expect it,” said Doiron. “Like we have a really good community, but I just didn’t expect that much to carry over in one day.”

Hanlon said it’s been a difficult time for the family, who lost their two cats, Butter and Toast, but his appreciation for his friends, family and community is hard to put into words.

“It shows how the community is,” he said. “They wrap their arms around people.”

The Beefy Weiner is open from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Emma Convey.

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