Saskatoon’s meals financial institution nonetheless accepting, encouraging meals donations
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The Tafel has imposed new measures to prevent the pandemic from spreading and is switching to deliveries.
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• Saskatoon StarPhoenix Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Center executive director Laurie O’Connor poses for a photo in Saskatoon on November 21, 2016. Photo by Michelle Berg /Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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Even if Saskatoon residents go to the grocery store less frequently, they are encouraged to take some items with them to donate to the blackboard.
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Sorting items is now closed to volunteers for the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Center with their Riversdale warehouse, but according to managing director Laurie O’Connor, the staff is still managing.
“It’s harder to work with food donations because you don’t know what you’re getting,” O’Connor said in an interview on Friday. “We still get donations. I think people still think of us when they’re in the supermarket. “
Unless volunteers try to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading, it has resulted in a loss of 1,600 to 1,800 volunteer hours per month, O’Connor said, but the food bank’s 30 employees are doing that.
John Bailey, CEO of Regina Food Bank, said in an email on Friday that she is still accepting food donations and building capacity so that there are enough people to sort the items.
Bailey said food donations are still being accepted, but monetary donations are being encouraged to try to maintain social distancing and unnecessary travel.
O’Connor, who also serves as the executive director of the Food Banks of Saskatchewan, an umbrella organization of the province’s 32 food banks, said she did not know of any food banks that are no longer accepting food donations.
Precautions have been taken at the Saskatoon site, including improved cleaning and measures to ensure social distancing for customers. “Hot spots” in the facility are sanitized every five minutes, O’Connor said.
Staff prepare baskets for customers to pick up instead of allowing people to make their own baskets; Part of the blackboard’s focus has shifted to deliveries to minimize the need for people to leave their homes.
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The panel has some experience with deliveries dating back to the 2014 transit agent lockout, and that is now being revived, O’Connor said.
Food Banks of Saskatchewan is trying to raise $ 6 million to meet anticipated surge in demand. Photo taken in Saskatoon, SK on Friday April 17, 2020. Photo by Matt Smith /Saskatoon StarPhoenix
She added that Saskatoon and other food banks are seeing a slight decrease in food donations, likely due to the decrease in trips to grocery shopping.
“There is an amazing amount of community support for the people,” she said.
So far, Saskatoon has not seen a large spike in usage, but this is expected due to pandemic restrictions that have resulted in the shutdown of many businesses and job losses.
The provincial food banks are currently running a $ 6 million raise campaign to meet an expected 25 percent increase in service demand.
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