The South Porcupine Food Bank is ready to open its doors in a new location.
Tomorrow (Oct. 2) will be the first day of operation at 97 Bloor St. next to the C.M. Shields Centennial Library.
A fire forced the organization out of its longtime location on Main Street in June. After the blaze, it operated out of a van outside the old location until moving into a space provided for free by Metro at the Porcupine Mall at the end of July.
Food bank treasurer Peter Davis said they'll be at the Bloor Street location for at least a year.
He said the operations have been going well.
"I think the clients struggled not knowing exactly where we were and for some people it was quite a distance to go to the mall because most of them were walking to get there. I think the residents that live close by will appreciate this new location,” he said.
The new space has five freezers and a cooler fridge.
“We were able to salvage the shelving that we had from the old food bank, get it cleaned up so all the smoke residue is gone and we set that all up at the back,” he said.
While it is a little less space than they're used to, Davis said they'll make it work.
For donations, non-perishable food items can be dropped off in the bins at the Porcupine Mall and Food Basics.
Right now, he said they are doing well for donations of canned and non-perishable food items are well stocked.
“At this point in time I think we’re doing not too bad for regular food items. So basically any food item you can think of that’s a regular food item, we are so happy to accept that,” he said.
