The Wood Buffalo Food Bank is officially moving into their new downtown location.
The non-profit had been operating out of a temporary site ever since their building was flooded and extremely damaged during last year’s flood.
Back in November, they purchased a spot on King Street and eventually started their move on Monday.
Executive Director Dan Edwards tells Mix News this new building will give them something they didn’t have before – space.
“We used every nook and cranny, we had a couple Harry Potter offices hiding under staircases…. this new space, significantly larger – I don’t need extra space to hold things.”
Before, they had to use two sea-cans, two sheds, and rented warehouse space just to house all of their supplies.
Being in a temporary location didn’t help with their storage issue, instead it made it much more difficult as they didn’t have proper refrigerators and freezers to hold perishable food.
This forced them to only provide non-perishable items in their hampers for over a year.
Edwards says they’re hoping to be able to provide meat, eggs, produce, and more in the coming weeks.
“All the parts are here, we just need to get them all installed. We want to make sure it’s done right, so we’re taking the time to do that properly.”
Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, the Food Bank has seen a spike in demand coming from the pandemic and downturn in the economy.
Since March 2020, they’ve averaged around 40 new clients a month.
“At the peak of things we were averaging about 60 new families a month, so that was very troubling,” added Edwards.
Despite this, the Food Bank is encouraging anyone who needs help to reach out.
Those who are in need of support can contact the food bank through their website.
