The Wood Buffalo Food Bank plans to take its much-needed services to Fort Chipewyan.
Through a partnership with Kings Kids Promotions and funding from the 2020 Community Impact Grant, its Mobile Pantry Program (MPP) can now venture northward to the hamlet.
After years of discussions and setbacks, Food Bank Executive Director, Dan Edwards said MPP is on the move.
“We are so excited to finally be bringing our monthly food services to Fort Chipewyan community, as this is a project we have been discussing for several years and it was just a matter of how we could do it.”
Edwards said MPP is a monthly collaborative effort with First Nations, the Municipality, Northland School District, and Kings Kids Promotions.
The food bank will assemble food packages intended to serve 20-40 families in Fort Chipewyan.
They will drive on the winter road, and once the weather warms packages will reach the town by plane.
Volunteers will organize a distribution centre and distribute hampers to families in need.
Edwards said assessments of the pilot project would be ongoing as the Food Bank hopes for additional sponsorships and funding.
“In this partnership with Kings Kids Promotions their team will be taking on a bulk of the manpower needs assisting in the packing and distribution of hampers, and finally making this vision possible.”
He added they hope to transition to a full-scale program next year.
For information on applying for assistance, visit the Wood Buffalo Food Bank website.
