Inuvik (July 11/03) - A new service in Inuvik will help needy people put food on the table.

Volunteer John Nash said the idea for the Inuvik food bank came out of a meeting of the inter-agency committee held in March.

John Nash and other volunteers were wheeling shopping carts through the Canada Day parade to help stock the shelves of Inuvik's new food bank. - NNSL photo

"We were discussing homelessness and one of the ideas that came out of that was the food bank," Nash said.

A steering committee was formed and the group set out collecting food and cash donations in the Aboriginal Day and Canada Day parades.

Doug Robertson, the interim chair of the food bank committee, said the group secured some space two weeks ago from the Town of Inuvik inside the Inuvik Works building.

"Everybody has been really co-operative," Robertson said.

With some shelves and a refrigerator from the old hospital, the volunteers have begun to settle into the modest new space.

There has been cash donations from NorthwesTel and the Royal Canadian Legion and food donations from all the grocery stores and many individuals.

"There were some teachers leaving for the summer and they donated some food and we owe a big thanks to all the people who came out to the parades to donate food and cash," Nash said.

The group has put food bins at the grocery stores so people can drop off food items there or deposit change in cans at the checkout counters.

They are looking at the operating policies and procedures of other successful programs, but Nash said they will tailor their service to suit Inuvik's needs.

"Every town is different and Inuvik's will be different than what you see down South," he said.

Because there have been a large number of cash donations, the committee has begun to set up a registered society.

Robertson said the policies are being put into place but at least at the outset, there will be no restrictions on who will receive food.

"We're not doing means tests, to find out people's incomes and what they spend their money on," Robertson said. "It's going to be on a trust system; if you need the service, you come and get take advantage of it."

"We will probably put a limit on how many times you can visit in a month."

Clients will fill out a basic registration form on their first visit to the bank detailing how many people in the family and children's ages.

The food bank will open to public service in mid-July.