Food bank proponents need funding, location

The Food Bank of Whitehorse board of directors met Wednesday evening to discuss plans to open a facility by the fall.

The Food Bank of Whitehorse board of directors met Wednesday evening to discuss plans to open a facility by the fall.

Having operated since December 2007, the group has already made tremendous headway. However, the 10 volunteers are starting to feel stretched beyond their limits, and need money and a location for the bank.

“We all have families and jobs,” Christiane Boisjoly, chair of the board, said in an interview this morning.

“There’s only so much we can do.”

Originally spearheaded by the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition, the food bank is the proposed solution to a food shortage for the economically-disadvantaged in Whitehorse.

When the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition realized it didn’t have the resources to take on this project last year, Boisjoly and her group of volunteers stepped in and created a separate society: The Food Bank of Whitehorse.

There are already two organizations handing out food to the needy-the Salvation Army and Maryhouse-but the supply is less than the demand.

Marg Stobie, a staff member at Maryhouse since last June, said today she’s excited about the proposed new food bank and hopes the three organizations in Whitehorse can collaborate and work together.

“We’re very much in support of this. Hopefully we could all co-operate and pass things along to one another.”

Maryhouse is open on Mondays and Fridays and considers its program an “emergency food program”, which is distinctly different than the services a food bank would offer.

Maryhouse primarily offers dry and canned goods, whereas the new food bank is aspiring to have fruits, vegetables, eggs and other perishable but healthy options.

Also, it would be open more often and would offer more services.

“People would be getting a more full diet. It would be much more nutritious,” said Stobie.

She noted that Madonna House, the organization Maryhouse is affiliated with, has a history of co-operating with soup kitchens and various other initiatives in Regina, Edmonton and Ontario.

“I don’t think there would be any competition,” she said. “We’re all trying to work better, and reach more people.”

The Food Bank of Whitehorse will not be affiliated with any religious organizations. This will be a different approach than that of the Salvation Army, which declined to comment today for this story.

Fresh food, particularly in first nations communities, is severely lacking, according to researcher Peter Becker.

Last year, Becker told the Star, “The research ... here in Whitehorse makes it clear that we have a problem.”

He drafted a government-funded feasibility study on behalf of the anti-poverty coalition.

Since then, the Food Bank of Whitehorse has been working tirelessly. It has done extensive research, adopted a funding strategy, created a budget, looked into food safety requirements, and is collecting assets like tables and chairs

It’s also actively looking for interns and volunteers.

In that time, it has also successfully joined the Canadian Association of Food Banks (CAFB).

Boisjoly stressed that community involvement is key to the success of the bank.

“What’s really important, the philosophy we’ve got going, is we’re trying to create a community process to manage food resources. We do not want to be a stand-alone organization.”

Though the primary work of the food bank will be to hand out hampers to needy citizens, Boisjoly said, it also wants to help educate the public on proper eating, perhaps team with a community kitchen, and get involved in other community efforts.

The board of directors has met with food bank directors from Kelowna, B.C. and London, Ont.

“There’s lot of people ready to help us, as soon as we get off our feet,” she said.

Staff are applying for a Community Development Fund grant from the Yukon government.

If they receive the funding, the first thing they will do will be to hire an executive director. That will greatly speed up the process of opening the food bank, which relies heavily on donations and volunteers.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Boisjoly.

“We’re looking for space large enough for a warehouse and an office, ideally downtown.”

Boisjoly hypothesizes that most of the food bank clients won’t have a vehicle, and says a downtown location is integral to their plan.

“We’re looking for a donation, or something we can get for a reasonable price,” she said. “Anything that could help is greatly appreciated.”