Port Hardy’s Harvest Food Bank has prepared itself as the winter season quickly approaches. Andy Cornell, who has managed the nonprofit, charity organization for five years, mentioned the food bank’s service usage increases vastly by those in need around the Christmas season.
Cornell emphasized that during the winter hours, many of the food products, such as fresh produce, eggs, and dairy are purchased weekly, but run out quickly during this season. Many of the barriers in meeting locals’ needs relate to the food bank’s budget, much of which is spent on the food programs.
Cornell made mention the biggest boost to their budget included Port McNeill RCMP’s “Cram the Cruiser” food drive. “Last year it (Cram the Cruiser food drive) was 3,200 kilograms, $1,700 dollars,” he said. “That’s a huge help. It will also help with the food boxes we distribute in December, they will have a lot more in them.”
He also added that the food boxes distribution next month will be held on the first three Fridays in Port Hardy. Distribution also happens on the second Wednesday of December for residents who live in Woss, Sointula, Port McNeill and Alert Bay.
“People can get one food box per household, per month. Most of what goes in them, normally, is purchased. Obviously, if there are donated things we put those in, but a vast majority, 80 to 90 per cent, of what’s in those food boxes we buy every month,” he said. He also stated that the food bank spends thousands of dollars every month to ensure food boxes are available.
He also noted there was a huge increase in service usage since he started, but the food bank’s resources have “only gone up slightly,” and may not match region’s needs, Cornell pointed out. He reminds residents that, while locals are generous during wintertime, the food bank does heavily rely on donations throughout the entire year.
Many of the programs the food bank offers include the bread bins, school meals, and partnership programs.
The monthly food boxes are distributed throughout the Mount Waddington region. Cornell noted that because of recent efforts to work with distributors the food bank has offered better access to its programs for Alert Bay and Sointula locals.
Schools within the North Island region also receive food to support meal programs, which could include the breakfast clubs. Much of the food, however, does go to other organizations, such as Salvation Army’s Lighthouse Centre in Port Hardy, to support social development programs.
The retail store, which could be called a second-hand shop, offers new and used clothes to locals, which are donated by community members or bought by the food bank itself. Profit made from the retail part of the nonprofit then goes toward operating costs.
“Our retail store generates more than any other source,” but he also pointed out the food bank receives a government grant to keep the food bank open. “There are donations as well, but those are a smaller part,” he concluded.
He also emphasized the nonprofit, charity organization is, in fact, separate to other service providers, especially religious institutions, which may often be mistakenly associated with Port Hardy’s Harvest Food Bank.
The Port Hardy Harvest Food Bank has operated for two decades, having opened in February 1998. The nonprofit then incorporated as a society the following November. The food bank’s original location was at 7135 Market Street, which is now Cafe Guido. As of 2004, however, the society moved into where it is located today, 7120 Market Street.