Food bank loses clients after move
Organization looks to distribute food from central location after 35 per cent visit drop
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 21, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Yellowknife Food Bank lost more than a third of its clients after moving from downtown to Kam Lake this summer, and is now hoping to partner with an organization to help distribute food from the city centre.
Brad Carlson, president of the Yellowknife Food Bank, sorts food hampers at the organization's new warehouse in Kam Lake. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo
Islamic Centre donates meat
The Yellowknife Food Bank received a rare treat a few weeks ago when the Islamic Centre of Yellowknife made an unexpected donation of 250 pounds of beef, lamb and goat to the organization. The centre's president, Nazim Awan, said the donation was made in honour of Eid-Al-Adha, a three-day religious holiday during which Muslims are expected to perform Qurbani or Udhiyyah, which translates into English as sacrifice.
"On that day people who can afford it do a sacrifice of an animal," said Awan. "It's basically to feed the poor."
A total of 11 members of the centre chipped in to purchase a cow, two goats and two lambs from a slaughter house in Edmonton and have them shipped up to Yellowknife.
The donation filled up the food bank's freezer for about a week; by the day its doors were open to the public all the meat had been handed out to those in need. Brad Carlson, president of the food bank, said items such as ground beef, whole turkeys or chickens provide an ideal substitute to food bank staples such as Kraft Dinner or baked beans. He said he would like more people donating meat on a regular basis.
"We get meat so seldom," Carlson said. "It's a very rare event."
Awan said he plans to establish the donation of meat to the food bank as an annual tradition for the centre.
"By the grace of God we will continue this every year," Awan said.
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"Those numbers tell us that the new location is not working," said Brad Carlson, president of the food bank, which is reporting the 35 per cent drop in visitors since the move.
The food bank operated rent free out of the basement of Overlander Sports on 50 Street up until June of this year, when the store's owner decided to use that space to expand its operations.
Unable to find a central location that it could afford, the food bank was forced to settle for warehouse space at 6 Coronation Drive in Kam Lake. Initial concerns that clients with mobility issues or no means of transportation would find it too difficult to get out there have been validated by statistics gathered over the last few months.
"The demand is there but people aren't able to get to our location," said Carlson.
Carlson, who took over from long-time president Grant Pryznyk at the food bank's AGM in August, said he has spoken with one organization that may be willing to allow the food bank to use its downtown storefront to distribute food every two weeks.
The food bank is currently open to the public every second Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Moving forward, the food bank would ideally maintain its warehouse as a storage facility and use the organization's downtown location to distribute the food on those days, Carlson said.
Carlson, who prefers to not name the organization, says he hopes to strike a deal in time for the busy Christmas season.
"I can't promise that's going to happen but that's our goal," he said.
Carlson has explored options that would allow him to relocate the food bank's operations downtown on a more permanent basis, but the cost of rent in the area is too high. At the moment the organization is paying between $1,300 to $1,400 a month to pay for its Kam Lake space. Carlson said he recently applied for $5,000 worth of funding from United Way in order to help the organization divert money which is currently being spent on rent to the purchase of food.
"We want to put every dollar we have into feeding people, not paying rent and utilities," Carlson said.
In 2013, the food bank handed out about 2,300 hampers.
Despite witnessing a decline in visitors since its move to Kam Lake, Carlson said donations to the Yellowknife Food Bank have continued steadily over recent months.
"We never turn anyone down," said Carlson. "No one ever leaves without food."
Carlson added that the organization hasn't be as hard up for volunteers as it has been in previous years. However, he said the food bank can always use more hands on deck, especially with its annual Stuff The Bus Food Drive just around the corner.
This year's drive will take place on Nov. 29. at the Yellowknife Co-op, with volunteers preparing hampers on the evening of the 27th.
Last year shoppers helped purchase approximately 400 hampers for those in need and raising close to $10,000 in cash donations
for the food bank.
