Photo - Fergie Reynolds is at left, volunteer Liz Duffy-MacLean in centre, MP Jowhari at right
Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Federal Government’s Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) program there is the addition of a refrigerated truck that will allow the Food Bank to safely and efficiently transport more perishables for those in need of emergency food.
“We are very grateful to be the successful recipients of this Federal grant,” said Lee Reynolds, General Manager of the Richmond Hill Community Food Bank. “The refrigerated van will expand our reach and our capacity. It will mean many more opportunities to access perishables essential to the health and well-being of our clients, such as fruit, vegetables and meat. It will also allow us to work more closely with other organizations to move perishables more efficiently.”
The number of people accessing the Richmond Hill Food Bank grew over 40% from 2017-2019, and Ms. Reynolds says the demand continues to grow. “We’ve seen a 15% increase in the number of new clients visiting our Food Bank over the past year,” she said. COVID-19 has intensified the food needs of the most vulnerable people, while also having a major impact on the operation of organizations working to improve food security.
The Richmond Hill Community Food Bank is a non-government, independently run non-profit agency, founded in 1986, to provide temporary emergency food assistance to those in need. For more information, please visit: www.richmondhillcommunityfoodbank.ca . Please visit their web site to see how you can help our food bank.
