After eight years of searching, the Surrey Food Bank has finally found a new home.
The charity will soon operate out of a 23,000-square foot building at 78 Avenue and King George Highway, which is three times the size of its current facility in Whalley.
Surrey Food Bank executive director Feezah Jaffer said the larger location will have a huge impact on the quality of food the food bank can offer.
“We’ve had to turn away donations sometimes because we just don’t have capacity because our building and our freezer space isn’t big enough, so when we move we will have ample space to take those donations and provide our clients with healthier options and the best food possible,” she said.
The Surrey Food Bank serves about 14,000 people every month, more than 40 per cent of them two-parent families with young children.
Jaffer said the organization has also seen a change in the demographic it serves in recent years.
“We’ve seen an increase in our new immigrant and refugee population, we’ve seen an increase in our senior’s population, we’ve seen an increase more significantly in what we are deeming the working poor,” she said.
When the new facility opens, it means the food bank won’t need to rent an off-site storage facility, as it currently does. That second space costs the charity about $3,500 every month, plus the expense of a truck and driver to move the food.
The new location, which is accessible by bus, is expected to open in Summer, 2020.