Following fire, South Porcupine Food Bank finds new locations to serve clients
Operating from the back of its van did the trick for the South Porcupine Food Bank while it made contingency plans after a fire at a neighbouring apartment unit.
Last month, the organization lost everything to smoke damage; food, appliances and its computer system had to be thrown out.
The news did not sit well with people in need. The food bank serves nearly 300 clients each month and kind-hearted souls rallied to collect food and money without even being asked.
Officials said more than $40,000 and nearly 11,000 pounds of food have been donated. The gestures have touched food bank volunteers.
“The community has just pitched in and helped us replenish and it’s just been remarkable the donations we’ve been receiving from all over the area," said Connie Grosvenor.
Grosvenor and other volunteers are now working out of a unit at the Porcupine Mall that's been donated by Metro, the mall's owner, for the next six months.
Food bank clients are asked to pick up their groceries there until the organization moves into a permanent location on Bloor Avenue, next to the C.M. Shields Public Library.
"We're here to help," said Peter Davis, treasurer of the South Porcupine Food Bank.
“Typically, we get anywhere (from) 235 to about 300 clients per month that come in. They’re allowed to come in once every 28 days, so it really does vary. We do get new clients almost every shift, as well, so there are people coming in and coming out of the food bank system."
People who walk or take the bus will also be given a utility cart. Anti-Hunger Coalition Timmins has donated 70 of them.
Davis said a lease has just been signed and in the coming months, the South Porcupine Food Bank will eventually move to 97 Bloor Ave.
Work is underway to get the facility ready for full-service food bank operations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
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.
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.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
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.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.