The Dauphin & District Food Bank has always been there for the people who need some help when it comes to meals. With COVID-19 taking a firm grip on the entire globe, some people are wondering if the Food Bank is still running and Robin Gambler, Executive Director assures that they are.
"We are business as usual. All of our hampers are pre-packed and we're only allowing one person in at a time right now," said Gambler. "I'm just marking down names, I give them their hamper and people go out the other door. It goes very quickly and it's been working very well."
The only change is they are now operating out of the cafeteria at Parkland Crossing. They have intakes every two weeks with the next one set to run next Thursday, April 16. The last intake they had was on April 2 and Gambler has noticed a lot of seniors are coming in.
"Many of the people coming in are also singles," she added. "Not as many families came in last time, but I think that's because they received GST the next day so they were able to shop. We expect things to pick up next Thursday."
The Food Bank is asking for some help from the public. They have run out of pasta sauce and they are running low on several other non-perishable food items.
With that being said, they're hoping people donate non-perishable food items. If you want to donate, you can drop off your items at Parkland Crossing during business hours which are 9-4 p.m.
Robin is asking people to look at the best before dates on their items before they donate them.
"Some people are donating items that are two or three years old and we can't give those out," concluded Gambler. "We aren't allowed to give out things that are expired too long and that's a rule put in place for Food Banks across Canada."
Gambler adds that she understands that this is a tough time; however, the Dauphin & District Food Bank will be here for you every step of the way.
