Greater Vancouver Food Bank searching for new home to ride out the pandemic

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is searching for a new home to continue distributing food to the community throughout the rest of the pandemic.

Since last year, the food bank has been operating out of a donated, 10,000 square foot warehouse, but the owner of the building they are occupying needs them to clear out by June.

Food Bank CEO David Long says it’s hoping someone can gift them some space to distribute the majority of the food soon but adds they need an even larger space to continue COVID safety.

“We were traditionally in some smaller locations and you can’t social distance,” he says. “Our mandate has been to have larger spaces for distribution, make sure everybody is socially distanced until we get to the other side of COVID and the pandemic and then we can reevaluate and see what the situation is like.”

#Vancouver, we need your help! The GVFB is seeking a Vancouver food distribution site. We need a 5,000 – 10,000 sq ft of warehouse space, with a loading dock or loading bay. To read the full media release, please visit: https://t.co/9Ev5pI81i6 #northvan #newwest #burnaby pic.twitter.com/Y62hVcZ7we

— Greater Vancouver Food Bank (@VanFoodBank) March 9, 2021

Long says the food bank has been working with the City of Vancouver, but they haven’t been able to come up with a solution at the time hence why we’re going out to the public.

Before the pandemic, Long says the bank distributed about 450,000 pounds of food, but they are handing out about 650,000 pounds over the last few months.

“We’ve seen people that have never in their wildest dreams that they ever think that they would need to come and ask for some sort of assistance and never thought that they would use a food bank,” he says. “There’s a lot of people going through a tough time right now, so I’m really happy that people want to come forward, get the food assistance they need, and absolutely with the kids, it’s super important that we make sure that they’re getting good nutrition, and they’re not going hungry. So it’s been busy.”

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If someone can gift the food bank a space like a warehouse that’s 5,000 to 10,000 square feet soon Long adds they’re particularly looking to use for a year or two. He adds, they are also looking for a location that is easy to access with transit with a loading dock and an open space where they can set up tables and distribute to people safely.

The Greater Vancouver Good Bank already leases two properties but doesn’t want to pay for a third lease.

– With files from Tarnjit Parmar