Second biggest expense remains rent at $80,000

Aylmer Food Bank looks ahead to new fiscal year 

 

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

Aylmer Food Bank employees have plenty of work ahead of them as they head towards their new fiscal starting April 1. “We already started looking at our organization for next year,” said Gérard Émond, Food Bank DG. “We are looking to improve our financial situation by increasing our revenue and one method is to further develop our catering service. We think we have an avenue there we can continue exploiting,” said Émond. For their 2013-2014 fiscal year, the catering service generated over $64,000 thanks to 151 orders, representing a 40% increase for the previous fiscal year. “We are also establishing our organizational committee for our golf tournament held June 17 this year. This is another activity which could help us generate funds. The situation of community organizations like ours is difficult these days,” added Émond.

 

In 2013, the tournament helped raise $28,000. The food bank is banking on the tournament since it is expecting less funds from Centraide Outaouais this year. “We still obtain funding from Centraide but we know they will not attain their $5.2 million objectif,” noted Émond. For the 2014-2015 budget, the food bank obtained $44,055 from Centraide.

 

The food bank also received funding of $23,500 from the city thanks to Gatineau’s solidarity and social inclusion action plan (PAGSIS) which ends next year. City Council will discuss the plan’s future during their 2016 budget talks.

The biggest expense for the food bank after salaries and benefits remains its lease ending September 2017. “We are looking to find a less expensive lease. We are not criticizing our landlord. We are looking at other avenues that would allow us to pay cheaper rent. If we move, we need to stay close to our families, we need to find an accessible locale,” said Émond.

 

The food bank is housed at 70 Eardley Road owned by 6814000 CANADA INC. The sole stakeholder is Marcel Raymond. His company obtained the building in 2008 from the Western Quebec School Board (WQSB) along with the Aylmer Academy and a vacant lot at 176 rue Principale in exchange to build the WQSB’s headquarters on Katimavik Street.

 

While the food bank’s financial situation remains imperfect it’s in a better state than previous years. “We no longer worry about bankruptcy. We are not there, it’s not part of our vocabulary,” said Émond. “Former employees ensured that our financial situation improved and we must continue in that sense.”

 

As for human resources, representing the biggest expense absorbing $321,000 of the $575,093 revenue, it will remain stable ensured Émond. Thankfully, the food bank can count on 225 volunteers who work 6,800 hours annually representing 3.75 employees. “Aylmer’s sense of belonging to the food bank is very strong. People are generous with their time and their money,” said Émond. For their 2014-2015 budget, the food bank indicated $80,000 in the donations column.