The Athabasca Good Samaritan Mission Association, which runs a food bank a 15-minute drive northeast of Athabasca, wants to expand.
The current food bank facility is not large enough to store all the food the food bank users require.
Operator of the food bank Lois Uchytil presented to Athabasca County council last Tuesday to inform council of the food bank’s fundraising efforts.
“The current registration for the food bank is 1,600 families,” Uchytil said. “We are in desperate need (of) food storage.”
Uchytil explained that last winter, the food bank was forced to house some food outside under tarps because there was a lack of storage space.
The food bank is also unable to provide dairy products, fruits and vegetables to the users of the food bank because the facility currently does not have any fridges.
The building the food bank is trying to build will cost a total of $160,980.
The association has raised $138,000 so far.
“We were wondering if there was any money available from the county for a community initiative?” Uchytil asked of council.
Council deferred the request to its next meeting at the end of June.
The food bank not only serves Athabasca County, but a much larger area.
“We get donations from families that are outside the county,” Uchytil said. “Slave Lake has their own food bank, but anyone outside the town has to come to Athabasca.”
Uchytil explained that although Westlock has a food bank, it is a small food bank that can only provide a minimal amount of food to families a month.
Uchytil thanked the Athabasca community for making the food bank a success.
“People in this community donate clothing, furniture, food,” she said. “Because of the giving of this community, we have this provision for people.”
She explained that the food bank also cares for people who are victims of abusive relationships, fires and loss.
“However, the majority of people who come to the food bank, probably 65 per cent, are on fixed income and disability,” she said. “There are not a lot of unemployed people — probably only 10 per cent.”
Uchytil explained she sees a lot of single-parent families.
“We have to have more than 300 hampers made each week,” Uchytil said. “The traffic lines up to the road. If we don’t have them made, there is too long a wait.”
She explained that even with the current system, families may have to wait two hours for food.
The new building would expand storage and allow the food bank a permanent location to prepare the boxes of food.
