Brockville, Ont. Home Depot donates outdoor food storage shed to local food bank
A special delivery at the Brockville and Area Food Bank Tuesday afternoon, as the Brockville Home Depot donated a new food storage shed.
"I feel amazing! I got a little emotional thanking the Home Depot crew," said Hailie Jack, executive director for the food bank. "They did a food drive and brought us a $100 donation as well. The community spirit in Brockville for this food bank is rich and I think we all feel really blessed."
The food bank has offered a free food service outdoors since the beginning of the pandemic, allowing people to select items anonymously, but the old system was not weatherproof. It used wire shelves that had to be brought inside during rain and snow. This new shed will now be a permanent solution.
The Brockville and Area Food Bank used to offer free food on wire shelves, but the shelves had to be brought indoors during rain or snow. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
"During COVID, we had to think of an alternative solution to have our free food accessible to the community," Jack said. "It used to be kept in-house, but with capacity limits and shutdowns, it was impossible.
"The team before I even arrived here came up with the idea to keep it outside, and we quickly learned that there were downfalls to that, especially rain."
Jack approached Ernie Olivo at Habitat for Humanity to see if they would like to help address the situation. Olivo made a post on Facebook, and Home Depot reached out to both of them, willing to do the entire project.
"COVID isn't going anywhere, capacity limits are still really low, so in order to have people access it as much as we can, this is now rainproof; we can keep the food out all day," Jack said.
"Another benefit of having it out here that we've noticed is our visitors are people who might not necessarily be registered with us," Jack added. "So they are stopping by and accessing this and meeting a food security need in their life without having to come in for whatever reason. It may be stigma, it might be time, so it's filling bellies more than what we are filling inside. We thought it was important to keep access outside as a permanent solution."
The shed will be filled with items like bread, produce, and canned goods as well as pet food.
"We have sometimes 10 to 20 people waiting in the morning to access the free food, and then it's a steady stream all day of people coming up," Jack said.
"Thanks Home Depot, we're very grateful for what you have done and thanks to our community," Jack added. "We're happy to be here in service for everyone."
The free food access is available during normal operating hours Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the second Monday of each month from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to squash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.