Kedgwick's little library lends fishing rods and fills produce bags

Kedgwick Public Library is about 200 square metres, in a northern New Brunswick community roughly 80 kilometres southwest of Campbellton, and it lends more than books. CBC News reported on October 21, 2026, that manager Diane Thompson, who has worked there 17 years, keeps puzzles, games, and skateboards on the shelves. The loans people ask for most are the fishing things. The library has winter rods, summer poles, tackle boxes, ice augers, and ice-fishing tents. Thompson's line was that they have everything except the bait.

The program she is proudest of started with a neighbor who asked whether the library could do something about food. Eat Fresh, led by 76-year-old volunteer Flavien Dubé, uses money raised through Fresh Start to pack fruit and vegetables meant to last a family of four for a month. Thompson said 172 people are willing to volunteer.

Grade 3 students from Marie-Gaétane School tend a summer garden beside the building, growing tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, and flowers. They shared the harvest, made chow chow, and sold the relish for $5 a jar to buy next year's seeds. Thompson also said the building needs more staff and more space. The story is what this room already does, not a claim that the space is big enough.