Interfaith Food Bank upgrading fresh food delivery thanks to grants
By Tim Kalinowski on May 20, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com The Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge is looking to massively upgrade its ability to deliver fresh food to surrounding rural communities, and within the City of Lethbridge, with the purchase of a new refrigerator truck unit as well as the development of a stronger Rural Food Share Program network.The refrigerator truck, funded by federal grants, will be delivered at the end of June, and a recent $28,000 donation from the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta’s Henry S. Varley Fund for Rural Life Grant will ensure the Interfaith Food Bank can truly act as the food supply hub for the region, says the organization’s executive director Danielle McIntyre.
“We are able to move things in semi-trailer loads,” she explains. “So when food comes into the food bank, we want to make sure it is going out not only to our local families but to any food security initiative in the area that will help get food on people’s tables.”
Although officially designated the southwestern Alberta food bank hub by the Alberta Food Banks network since 2016, McIntyre says it has been apparent for awhile there is a logistical problem in delivering food in the region. Originally the Interfaith Food Bank Society was supposed to be a point where outlying food banks and other food security organizations in surrounding rural communities came into when they had a surplus for redistribution or a shortage of food.
However, explains McIntyre, these organizations often would either not have the proper transport vehicle to pick up food with, or, alternatively, lack the storage and cold storage capacity to deal with a larger supply of food.
This was the genesis of the “Fleet that Feeds” concept at the Interfaith Food Bank Society where food could be shipped out to those organizations to meet their local needs.
“Having the capacity to be able to distribute out (of Lethbridge) is the biggest thing for us,” McIntyre confirms.
The Interfaith Food Bank Society now operates a large cube truck to make deliveries to partner agencies throughout the region and to redistribute food between organizations where a surplus might exist to help organizations where there may be a scarcity, McIntyre explains. But, until now, she says, the Interfaith Food Bank only had the transport capacity to deal with non-perishable foods which do not require additional refrigeration to transport.
The addition of a refrigerator truck in June, and the recent Community Foundation money to support the logistical requirements of this complex, regional, food distribution network, will reduce spoilage and waste, says McIntyre. And will allow for regular runs to rural communities in the region to pick up and distribute fresh food.
“That will allow us to have a constant supply, and regular turnover of stuff,” she confirms. “So those smaller organizations don’t have to spend their money on things like giant coolers because they will get regular drop-offs.”
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