MJ & District Food Bank seeks volunteers
The Moose Jaw & District Food Bank is looking to strengthen its organization by improving strategic planning and adding to its Board of Directors as the Food Bank is seeing an increase in the number of people that rely on its coffers each year.
At an informational meeting at the Food Bank on Tuesday, February 27th, the Board of Directors put out a call to the community for members to join the Food Bank as volunteers, whether to serve on the Board or volunteer at the warehouse. Brian Harrison, chair of the Board of Directors at the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank says as the organization look to improve its role in the community, they are seeking assistance from residents who would like to be part of the team. He added that they also want the community to be fully aware of the Food Bank and how much it helps the wider community. “One of our goals is to make the community fully aware of the Food Bank regarding what we do and who we help, but we also want people to know that there are opportunities for them to come and help us on the board,” he said.
“We also want them to know that they can volunteer to help at the Food Bank, whether it’s one day of the week or month and with our food drives. There are lots of opportunities here that people can be part of. For example, the food drive that we have on October 31, we usually have well over 450 people. That is a big drive. Our board is made up of about seven people, but we can have up to 16 persons, so we have lots of vacancies for people to join the board if that’s something they’d love to do. We’re also thinking about a fundraising sub-committee that we’d love to get going and welcome applications to join us.” The community is also encouraged to come out to the Food Bank’s Annual General Meeting which will be held on Tuesday, March 27 at the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank located at 305 Fairford St. W (entrance on 3rd Ave NW). The meeting will start at 2:00 p.m. and will give persons an opportunity to learn more about the organization.
Last year, the Food Bank underwent major renovations where shelves were installed and space was made available, that enabled them to carry-out their services more efficiently. On a tour of the facility, Assistant Manager Deann Little said the renovations were an immense help. “We’re now able to get things in and out quickly, in an efficient manner. It is also a better environment for our clients and affords them more privacy when they come. It is not congested, and we are able to work a lot better so we’re very happy with the space we have now.”
They said, however, a new location is something they are looking to retain over the next 5 years.
The Food Bank provides assistance every week to young children, students, working families and the elderly. They say persons from all aspects of life use the Food Bank on a weekly basis. According to 2017 data provided by the MJ & District Food Bank about persons who benefit; 36% are chil- dren; 45% are families and 8% are seniors. In addition, 4, 130 hampers were distributed for 2017. An average of 17 emergency food hampers are distributed everyday. They say this helped to feed 9, 490 people last year. Since 2008, the Food Bank has seen a 17% increase in the number of persons who rely on this service.
The Moose Jaw & District Food Bank was established on October 23, 1984 as a local not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to providing a collection and redistribution system for surplus and donated food in the region. Today, they serve 850 families each month, with 1 in 10 households in the community accessing services during the year. They said nearly half of the people they assist are children. They thank the generosity of the community, donors and volunteers who play a vital role in helping them to serve the community.
To become part of the team or apply to volunteer as a board member, you can contact the MJ Food Bank at endhunger@mjfoodbank.org; visit them at 305 Fairford St. W; call 306-692-2911; fax 306-692-2925. You can drop of donations Monday to Friday between 9:00 a.m. & 2:00 p.m. and/ or pick up Hampers between 9:00 a.m. & 12:00 p.m.