Press Release from the Orangeville Food Bank
Press Release: Orangeville Food Bank Announces Two Major Changes in Response to Community Needs: Creation of Dufferin Food Share and Upcoming Move to New Permanent Location
For Immediate Release: Monday, April 6, 2020
Like every organization in Dufferin County, we at the Orangeville Food Bank have recently had to adjust to the changing needs in our community due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, we were able to anticipate a surge in demand and rapidly create Dufferin Food Share in partnership with several amazing organizations, including the Salvation Army, St. Mark’s Anglican Church, the Café at the Centre, Westminster United Church, the Children’s Foundation of Guelph Wellington, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Grand Valley Food Bank.
As we continue to meet the needs of all those affected by the economic impact of the pandemic, we also continue to work in the background implementing our strategic plan to ensure we continue to be a sustainable community supported agency able to meet the needs of a growing community. To this end, we realized that our building for the last several years was simply not large enough for our needs, and in 2019 we initiated the process to find a more suitable location. The Board and Executive Director worked with local realtors and ultimately found a building close to our current location and certainly more ideally suited for our purpose. After securing financing, we are in the process of purchasing the property and are currently working with several partners to develop a design and begin renovations.
What does this mean for the Orangeville Food Bank? It means we will be able to improve how we deliver service while, longer term, reducing our operating expenses. More importantly, what does this mean for our clients? It means that every client will continue to be able to access nutritious food in a supportive and dignified environment and we will be able to store more of it safely to meet the increased demand.
The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on every facet of our nation and we at the Orangeville Food Bank are focused on meeting the needs of our local community today while preparing to continue to care for our community in the future. In the coming weeks and months, we will share more information about this project but for now we will, along with our Dufferin Food Share partners, continue to be a neighbour helping neighbours.
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For more information, please contact:
Trevor Lewis, President, Orangeville Food Bank
trev@trevic.ca
519-938-1109