Kenora Food Bank Extends Hours
In June, The Salvation Army in Kenora announced that its food bank hours are expanding to serve the community better.
The Kenora food bank operates primarily by appointment. Clients book a time to come and shop the food bank using points on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Each family or individual has 30 points to spend during their appointment, and each additional family member grants the family five more points.
Items in the food bank are assigned points, allowing clients to choose the items they like and accommodate any dietary restrictions. This model helps reduce food waste and eliminates the issue some food bank clients face when they don’t know how to prepare a particular item or how to incorporate it.
“It adds more dignity to having to come to the food bank, and it ensures less waste. As a parent of a kid who knows what he likes and knows what he doesn’t like, nothing is worse than bringing home something that you have to get rid of because your kid’s not going to eat it,” says Stuart Walter, community ministries director for Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Dryden.
Baby items, such as formula, are free for those who need them. Additionally, if the food bank has a surplus of a specific item, a dented can, or an item nearing its expiration date, clients can add them to their shop without using any points. To the best of their ability, they also try to provide bread, desserts, frozen meat, a litre of milk, a carton of eggs and fresh bananas.
Beginning June 4th, Walter added time to the food bank calendar by offering a drop-in from 2 pm to 4 pm on Wednesdays, where anyone without an appointment can come by for a hamper to see them through a period of emergency food insecurity.
The hampers include a box of Kraft Dinner, a box of cereal or oatmeal, two packages of ramen, a package of spaghetti or macaroni noodles, a box of crackers or cookies, one can each of meat and fish, a jar of peanut butter, a can of sauce, two cans of soup and four cans of legumes, vegetables and fruit.
