SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The YK Food Bank is getting out of Overlander's basement, its home for the last 11 years, and moving to a new location in Kam Lake next month.

YK Food Bank President Grant Pryznyk, left, and vice-president Joanne Teed stand inside the future home of the food bank in Kam Lake, which will officially open next month. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo

The new location at 6 Coronation Drive -- for now marked only with a small green sign bearing the number six -- is a 75 square metre unit in a storage building owned by DC Enterprises, which the organization has leased for a year at a cost of about $1,200 per month.

"We're able to rent this place at half the price it would take to rent downtown," said Grant Pryznyk, the food bank's president.

Coming from its central downtown location and going out to Kam Lake is a big change for the organization, Pryznyk said, but added that the people who come to the food bank to feed their families didn't have an issue with the new location when asked what they would think.

"Most of the people we talked to said they wouldn't have a problem getting out to Kam Lake," said Pryznyk. "We understand that there will be some people who can't get a ride and that's unfortunate, but the majority will be able to get a ride with someone they know – a lot of them do that already."

Pryznyk said the food bank will try the location out for a year, but if they begin to lose clients and it poses a problem to people needing its services, the board of directors will have to consider its options closer to downtown.

The move is the best thing for the organization, Pryznyk said, as it gives it more room to store food for its clients, has an easy-access garage door for deliveries and eliminates the obstacle of the stairs that caused problems for clients and volunteers taking food from or into the current location beneath Overlander.

"We don't, thank goodness, have stairs (in the new location) because we've seen some of the people going down those stairs, especially the elderly," said Joanne Teed, vice-president of the food bank. "We'll now be able to service a lot more elderly and mothers with young children."

The move has been planned for the past few months with the knowledge that Bill and Sandra Stirling, owners of Overlander, wanted to expand their business into the basement where they plan to sell off-season items.

"We basically planned to move before we wore out our welcome," said Pryznyk. "They have been so good to us, and we can't thank them enough, but it was best for the organization to move."

Right now, all that's in the unit are large wooden shelving units donated to the food bank by DC Enterprises, which is also building a wall separating the unit from the five others in the building. Before it can be opened as the new location, the shelves need to be painted, more electrical outlets need to be installed, as well as a sink and toilet.

"There is a couple thousand dollars worth of renovations to be done before it can open," said Pryznyk.

"And we're looking for any electricians, plumbers, anyone who wants to paint to help out as well," Teed added. "If anybody wants to step forward it'd be excellent."

They are also looking for volunteers to come out May 17 when the majority of the food from the current location will be moved out to the Kam Lake location. DC Moving and Office Relocations is handling the transfer of larger items free of cost, but the smaller items need to be moved by volunteers.

The next two food distribution days will take place at the current location beneath Overlander on May 17 and 24, with the Kam Lake location officially taking over on June 7.