Nine-year-old Sault boy helps hungry people with spicy business

There are many generous people to be found in the Sault, and some of them show that generosity at a young age.

Nine-year-old Arlo Brideau, an F.H. Clergue Public School student, assisted by his mother Jaime Brideau, prepares bottles of spices at home to be used for meals for those in need in the community.

He’s been preparing the spice bottles since he was six years old, setting aside one dollar from every spice bottle sold at Mill Market and arts and crafts shows for a $275 donation he plans to make to the food bank program at St. Vincent Place next Wednesday.

“I enjoy it very much. It makes me feel good,” Arlo told SooToday.

“When I see people on the streets I want to do something for them, so I came up with the idea to sell spices,” Arlo said,

“We do them in big batches and each batch of spices takes about half an hour to an hour. You mix them all in, bottle them all up and label the jars. This is going to be our first time making a donation. We’ve been collecting money and waiting until we have a decent amount to donate. We’re going into St. Vincent Place to make the financial donation but we’re going in next Wednesday to help serve the food as well,” said Arlo's mother Jaime Brideau.

“It’s been an effort on both of our parts but Arlo has, for a very, very long time, been wanting to help. He sees people on the streets with signs asking for money and for food and every time he sees them he says: ‘Mom, can we buy them something, can we go to the grocery store and get them something to eat?’”

“He had the idea one time to just keep a box of granola bars in the car so when we see someone in need we have something to give right away. So we came up with this spice bottle business idea where he is working and learning and doing things on his own but also helping and giving to something that’s important to him,” Jaime said.

“I’m a nutritionist so food has always been a big part of our lives,” said Jaime, who works as a nutritionist at Fit Bodies Fit Minds.

Arlo said he’s looking forward to his trip to St. Vincent Place next week.

To help feed those in need in the Sault, bottles of spice from Arlo’s Spices can be purchased through email or Instagram.