Its commercial fridge and freezer are both brand new, and the Timmins Food Bank is already seeing the benefits.
Chairman Rick Young says the food bank is now able to make fresh vegetables available to its clients, and donations that have to be stored in the freezer are starting to come in.
“Actually, it’s a win-win situation,” he says. “It’s good for us and it’s good for the people now getting vegetables, fresh vegetables and a lot more meat.”
The food bank bought the commercial appliances with $10,000 donations from the Timmins Chamber of Commerce and Goldcorp.
The food bank is in the former Nativity Church on Spruce St. N. Young says it accepts individual and corporate donations.
“Some of the stores are really good to us,” he notes, “donating stuff that gets close to the expiry date. You know, they overstock or bring in too much, they call me up and we go and pick it up.”
The food bank serves about 100 families a week. That translates into about 400 people relying on it.