Until the day poverty is wiped off the face of the planet, the Sudbury Food Bank will be there to help fill the need for food, said its director.
The Sudbury Food Bank opened the doors to its new home at 1105 Webbwood Dr. today. It has been a long five years to get to this point, food bank administrator Daniel Xilon said, and it’s an occasion that will be celebrated in grand style. A new location also means a new name: Entrepot de la Banque d’ailments Sudbury Food Bank Warehouse.
"We’ve come close many times (to getting a new location), and there have been several opportunities, but we’ve always been outbid," Xilon said.
For years, the Sudbury Food Bank has been outgrowing its location at 634 Notre Dame Ave. More often than not, Xilon said he was forced to find temporary storage at private homes and local businesses, because the food bank was unable to accommodate the ever-increasing donations of non-perishable food items.
He even had to turn away a significant donation of hams, because there simply wasn’t enough room to store them.
It would cost around $3 million to bring the Notre Dame location up to code as a warehouse facility, Xilon said. The new building came with a price tag of $1.1 million, a "no-brainer" for the food bank, and the money was raised through the generosity of the community.
"Our location on Notre Dame was set up in 1988 as a temporary solution to the political environment at the time," Xilon said. "It was never meant to be a long-term safety net for the community, but no one really realized just how huge the hunger situation really was."
Now that the food bank is in its new location, Xilon said the former location will be sold.
The food bank’s new location measures 10,000 square feet, but its high ceiling will allow for 20,000 square feet of storage, Xilon said. The new digs also mean the Sudbury Food Bank will become the distribution centre for all of northeastern Ontario and will deliver food to Sault Ste. Marie and all the way to Parry Sound.
The new-to-the-food-bank building also comes equipped with an 800-square-foot freezer and an 800-square-foot fridge.
Trucks will begin rolling out of the warehouse tomorrow (Oct. 26), Xilon said.
The food bank caters to 45 member agencies throughout all of Greater Sudbury, all of which rely on food donations to provide meals to their clients.
From school-aged children to seniors, the Sudbury Food Bank has an impact on people of all ages and from all walks of life, Xilon said.
Xilon said the official ribbon cutting for the new location will happen at 7 p.m. tonight, and it’s being held in conjunction with the gala evening Art of Dessert event, which will launch the food bank’s annual Christmas Card fundraising campaign.
Posted by Jenny Jelen
