After two years, New Sudbury food bank reopens
Almost two years ago, Inner City Home had to close its New Sudbury food bank location due to COVID-19.
“When COVID came into existence, a lot of our volunteers were older people and they were very nervous and concerned about being in an atmosphere that might get them to have COVID,” said Joe Drago, Inner City Home president.
"So a lot of them just drifted away from us for the time being and I’m hoping that when COVID is eventually over that they will come back."
Before the pandemic began, the organization had 100 volunteers; there are now about 40. Despite the shortage of volunteers, the New Sudbury location now will be open Tuesday from 10 a.m. until noon, when it was previously open twice a week.
Executive director Jennifer Grooms said while the location was closed, families in New Sudbury had their food delivered. The need has grown so much that the location had to reopen. Grooms said in 2020, the organization provided food to 900 households every month, but now that number has grown to 1,400.
Inner City Home is the largest emergency food provider in the city, supplying food to people from Alban to Falconbridge. Having the location reopen means those in need won’t have to go as far to access services.
“A lot of them come here and they have a grocery cart to haul these things to the bus stop," said volunteer Homer Carr.
"It’s really sad, but when you know when you're hungry, I guess you manage, so a lot of them don’t have transportation.”
The New Sudbury location services a lot of big families, providing around $100 worth of groceries every week. Grooms said it was difficult for many clients to make the trip downtown every week, so the doors had to be reopened.
A recent food drive put on by St. Andrew the Apostle Church stocked the location with food. With winter on the way, Drago said the need will increase and there are many things people in the community can do to help.
“Cash is really good for us because the arrangement we have -- for every dollar, we can buy $3 of food," he said.
"So it’s important that we have a lot of cash donations because then we can fill the shelves here a lot more than people just giving us cans -- which we want for sure. I’m not turning them off, but if we can get a lot of cash we can buy a lot more to help those that are in need”
To learn more about Inner City Home, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.