Food bank looks more like grocery store in Kelowna

The Central Okanagan Food Bank has a new look, and it’s exactly what you’d expect to see at your local grocery store.

Clients said it has turned the experience of receiving charity into an opportunity to have hope for the future.

“It’s not easy to do,” food bank client Dawn McLean said. “I really had to swallow my pride.”

It may have been hard to ask for help feeding her family, but McLean said the new food bank layout gives her better choice over what she takes home.

“This new way, there’s no wastage,” she said. “If I don’t want any of these sorts of things (pointing to can goods), I don’t have to have it.”

“It feels like a market experience,” Central Okanagan Food Bank Executive Director Lenetta Parry said.

The location at 2310 Enterprise Way in Kelowna took three years to secure, according to Parry.

She said the 19,000 sq. ft. space has everything they need.

“Centrally located, double the space, higher ceilings, loading docks: we were able to triple our cold storage capacity,” Parry said.

Parry said 4,000 people come to the Central Okanagan Food Bank for help every month.