There are 6,400 individuals who use the food bank every year, 40% of the recipients of the food are children. Kingston’s local Partners in Mission Food Bank (PIMF), does a lot with a little but as the need increases and donations decrease, it becomes a struggle.
In an ironic twist, PIMF is forced to turn away thousands of pounds of frozen food donations because they have no means of storing them. We have created four separate initiatives to help the PIMF to feed hungry citizens in our community.
A freezer to increase capacity.
We have sourced industry donations, funding and experts to install a commercial walk-in freezer. Not only will this enable the PIMF to serve more people but it will also allow them to accept frozen food donations that they were previously turning away. The current value of the freezer is $48,000 and once the project is complete, it will increase the capacity to over 960,000 lbs of food per year. In addition to this, we are also communicating with food banks in the surrounding communities so that we can start the process of having a commercial walk-in freezer installed at their location as well.
Solar panels to earn an independent stream of income.
An application has been submitted by SIFE SLC and approval has already been received from the ministry granting our application to the Feed In Tariff program. We are working with several local business professionals, specializing in this area, to complete this $10,000 per year revenue generating project.
Retrofits to decrease operating costs.
Having a new freezer and solar panels installed is just the beginning. Last year we partnered with Green HEAT and conducted an energy audit for PIMF. The energy audit identified energy saving opportunities. These retrofits include the installation of a new furnace, weather stripping on windows and doors, insulation, etc. With these minor retrofits, the PIMF has the potential of savings of $3,500 a year.
A truck to increase efficiency.
One of the problem areas for PIMF has been accessing large corporate donations. Currently the food bank is using a small cargo van for pick-ups. This necessitates many single pick-up trips, which results in excess operating expenses, wasted time, and an inability to load donations at dock level.
We ran an awareness campaign called iClickuEat (www.iclickueat.com). This prompted the United Way to submit a one-time $25,000 donation to PIMF for this initiative. We are looking for the best deal and will purchase the truck in time to support the freezer.
By obtaining this truck, PIMF will save money on vehicle expenses; be able to use their time more efficiently; and allow for dock-level loading to acquire larger donations that would otherwise go to a landfill.
