Food Bank’s new space serves an increase in need

The Aylmer Food Bank has changed location to a smaller facility that Director General Gérard Émond says is a much more efficient use of space to serve their clients. In 2016, the food bank received a provincial government grant of $200,000 to purchase and renovate a new facility. The new location is 67 du Couvent, site of the now closed Aylmer Health Co-op.

The number of people who use the food bank regularly has risen steadily over the last three years. From 2014 to 2017, the number of families went up from 616 to 769, the total number of food bags distributed increased from 2,156 to 2,995. Mr Émond explained that “the mosaic of needs is really quite varied,” though at the same time, there are three factors he sees on a daily basis: the rising price of food, the high cost of rent and an aging population. “If a family has two or three children, they can’t live in a one-bedroom apartment” said Émond. “With both parents working full time for minimum wage, increased rent prices push their budget to the limit and that’s when they come to see us.”

The Food Bank serves 46 families ever day. Mr Émond attributes that success to the generosity of the people of Aylmer. They receive approximately 125,000 kg in donated food items per year. Around 90,000 kg of that comes from a combination of donations from the Moisson Outaouais food bank and grocery stores throughout Gatineau. The rest comes from the donations received from the efforts of Aylmer community organizations and individuals, with 14,400 kg received at Christmas time alone.

At the previous location, volunteers were enlisted to help weed and harvest the on-site vegetable garden every summer. This year, after the move and renovations, they lack the funds to implement an on-site garden project but they have found a solution which Mr Émond says is a true collective effort. This year the food bank will send volunteers twice a week to help a local elderly resident with his substantial vegetable garden. Last year the food bank received 2,000 kg of fruits and vegetables from that resident’s private garden. “It’s another way to have a collective garden. By giving and receiving in this way, I am optimistic that we will have a nice result from those efforts.”

Volunteers are the backbone of the food bank’s efforts, accounting for 11,000 hours of work annually. That is the equivalent of 6.5 full-time employees, effectively doubling the efforts of the six employees on staff. Most of the volunteers are from the Aylmer area and, without their dedication and support, the food bank would not be operational. In their new, smaller location volunteers are comfortably able to use those hours more effectively by easily moving between areas of use, all with the goal of providing the best possible service to clients.