A new site is breathing new life into the Lord’s Bounty Food Bank.
The food bank opened its new permanent location at the former St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church building on Dec. 19.
Aside from a fresh coat of paint, the new food bank boasts a stainless-steel kitchen area, with space devoted to making soup to be given to clients.
“We’ll be able to eventually offer classes here,” said Alison Dallas-Funk, vice-chair of the food bank.
Walk-in fridge and freezer units can also be found, along with a sizable storage area, already full of canned and dry goods.
Dallas-Funk said the food bank received a number of donations from local residents, groups and businesses in the weeks leading up to the official opening, adding that donations of winter clothing and Christmas gifts and packages for children had been included.
“We’re fully stocked, especially since it’s that time of year. October, November and December are our highest donation months. All the donations we receive in those months actually carry us into the summer,” she said.
The move to the new space is more than a year in the making. After a fire gutted its previous location on Hapnot Street in September 2016, the food bank was suddenly left without a home.
One week later, the food bank was back in business, moving into a space in the back of Burkee’s Sports Lounge within sight of the old building, now boarded up and unused.
“We had to move, but I think we had only one week without getting food out,” said Dallas-Funk. “The fire was such a horrible circumstance, but out of that, we were very fortunate that our community rallied around us and we were able to come up with this place.”
Not long after moving into Burkee’s, discussions started with the hope of finding a permanent home for the food bank. Last winter, a solution was found – buying the St. Mary’s Ukrainian Church building on Hiawatha Avenue in a joint venture with the Flin Flon School Division.
While the school division has moved into the lower level, the food bank now occupies the main level of the church.
The pews, icons and the portrait of Taras Shevchenko over the door have all been moved out of the former sanctuary, replaced with racks and deep-freezes teeming with donated food. Dallas-Funk said the food bank has plans to expand what is offered in the main area.
“That open concept area, we’d like to not have it just be a ‘come-and-get-your-food-and-leave’ area. Maybe if you needed to talk with somebody or wanted to sit down for a couple minutes or if service programs wanted to use our space, that can all happen. We have such a larger space now, it’s definitely more welcoming.”
There will be some changes coming with the new building. Food bank clients will now allow people to come twice a month for food, instead of allowing visits each week.
To make up for the change, Dallas-Funk said those in charge of the food bank would like to add an area for clients to access education, services and specialized programs.
“We don’t want to change the service without adding something. This new space will allow us to provide food, but also provide other services – education, access to programs, connecting people, knowledge. That’s what we’re hoping to do,” said Dallas-Funk.
“There’s an old saying; ‘not a hand-out, a hand up’. That’s what we want. We want to have more action, not just handing out food. It’s hard for people to acquire employment if they’ve never been given the opportunity to gain knowledge or experience or skills.”
The new building was initially intended to open early this fall, but suffered delays.
“This place was built solely by volunteers. We had one thing built by a contractor and that was it,” said Dallas-Funk. “When you’re asking people to give their time and they already have a full-time job, they’re only going to be able to come in as they can.”
