In response to record-breaking demand, the Ottawa Food Bank has moved to a new, larger location. Operating skillfully in a bigger warehouse space is partly made possible through a $139,300 Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
The grant purchased three forklifts and the certification of a staff member to be an in-house trainer of the new equipment.
"The generous investment from Ontario Trillium Foundation to help equip our warehouse with needed machinery is about more than forklifts. It's about our team being able to work as efficiently and effectively as possible in order to support our network at a time when we’ve never seen so much need in our city."
With high demand forcing us to find a bigger space, the new warehouse is over two times the size of the old Michael Street location. This increased size means means we no longer need to say “no” to donations of fresh and frozen food due to lack of space, and we no longer need to rent off-site storage.
Thank you to John Fraser, MPP for Ottawa South, for joining us for a tour of the new space while we recognized Ontario Trillium Foundation for their generosity.
"The Ottawa Food Bank is an invaluable community resource that continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Resilient Communities Fund grant is not just recognition of their terrific work, it’s an investment in the people of Ottawa, and in the idea that by working together, we can continue to make our community one that works for everybody.”
Working together with the network of food programs in Ottawa, we saw over 403,000 client visits last year – up 28 per cent from the year before.
