Two founders of Flin Flon’s food bank will soon receive a provincial tribute.
Winnipeg Harvest nominated Lord’s Bounty Food Bank co-founders Carol and Dennis Hydamaka for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) Community Leadership Award. The Hydamakas will receive the award in Winnipeg on April 19.
The pair, who have played a role in keeping the food bank running for more than 25 years, said the news of the award came as a shock to the Hydamakas themselves.
“We were quite surprised,” said Carol.
“I did tell them that we started it and we’re the figureheads, but this award belongs to the community,” added Dennis.
“We’re autonomous, we’re a totally volunteer organization, but without the support we get from the community, we wouldn’t exist.”
The last two years have been a rollercoaster ride for the food bank, and included relocating after the group’s former home was made unusable following a fire, relocating into the storage room at Burkee’s Sports Lounge and eventually finding a permanent home.
“You’d have to go a long ways before you find a more generous area,” said Dennis.
“We’ve been on telephone lines across Canada with food bank people and nobody that I know of gets the support that we do. Especially with the size of the community.”
The group’s new home on Hiawatha Avenue is in the former St. Mary’s Catholic Church and opened to the public in December 2017. An official grand opening for the new building will be held later this month.
“We always were supported locally. After the fire, it became a national thing. Support grew right across the country and it also grew locally,” said Dennis, adding that the new building will mean an expansion of food bank operations, including education, children’s programs and an on-site garden plot.
“There’s a separate group that will be looking after it – it was their idea and they’ll be looking after it,” he said, referring to the garden.
