NEWS RELEASE
FOOD BANK OF YORK REGION
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In 2019, the Food Bank of York Region (FBYR) realized that it needed to take steps to replace its combined walk-in cooler/freezer as it was becoming too small for its needs.
The Food Bank reached out to the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) and in late 2019, it learned it was going to receive a $82,400 capital grant to buy a larger walk-in cooler and a walk-in freezer to better able to store the significant increase in fresh and frozen products being donated by local retail stores, farmers and food manufacturers.
“This generous grant will help the Food Bank of York Region support the most vulnerable members of our community. I would like to thank all of the volunteers for their continued dedication to ensuring nobody goes hungry during this holiday season," said Gila Martow, MPP for Thornhill.
With the increased demand for food support by many who have been affected by the state of emergency, the installation of the walk-in units came at the right time.
Deliveries of frozen proteins from the Federal Surplus Food Rescue Program have commenced and the FBYR is ready to safely store the bulk products before delivering them to their network. The new cooler is 275 per cent larger than the original cooler, and the freezer is 330 per cent larger than the original.
To accommodate the new units that were installed in June, the warehouse furnace needed to be relocated, the existing power supply needed to be upgraded and the old combination cooler and freezer was dismantled.
“The Ontario Trillium Foundation has been very supportive of our food bank since our inception in 2012,” said Alex Bilotta, the Founder and CEO of the Food Bank of York Region. “Our primary focus has been to provide healthy fresh and frozen food products to our growing network of community food pantries, social service agencies and housing coops. Healthy communities are populated with healthy residents that regularly consume a balanced diet which includes a variety of healthy fresh and frozen foods. Thanks to the OTF grant, we can continue to grow our program.”
The Food Bank of York Region: The FBYR is the regional food hub network serving the nine municipalities of York Region (Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, and King).
We source, collect, warehouse, and deliver surplus fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food donations for the 80+ local front-line direct service agencies within our network. For more information about the FBYR or ways to donate, please visit www.fbyr.ca and follow us on social media.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the government of Ontario and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. OTF awarded $115 million to 644 projects last year to build healthy and vibrant communities in Ontario. www.otf.ca
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