Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot, and who's not. This week's list include...
It took nearly 13 years of discussions and looking for potential sites, but finally the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre has broken ground on a new home.
The new facility will be built in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood on a 1.4 ha lot on Avenue P South, near St. Paul’s Hospital.
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As the demand for the services provided by the food bank grows, executive director Laurie O’Connor said the start on the news facility is coming at the right time.
“This year we’ve seen a pretty remarkable increase in usage … in the food bank program,” she said. “We’re now serving over 23,000 people every month, which equates to about 8,500 hampers each month.
“It’s not just a move for today, but it’s a move for tomorrow as the new Food Bank will be better suited to help serve the community of Saskatoon better.
“The new facility will give us an opportunity over the next 10 years to grow to double the amount of food that we move through the warehouse.”
While it’s hard to estimate how much the demand for the food bank will continue to grow, it’s something O’Connor and her team are preparing for.
“It’s hard to know if our usage will grow with the growth of the city or not,” she said. “If it does, I think in 10 years we could be looking at serving 30,000 to 40,000 people a month.”
With the new facility, all the different locations where the Saskatoon Food Bank now operates will now be under the same roof, including the outdoor summer garden.
“We’ll be able to grow food here, to have an outdoor classroom,” said O’Connor. “To work with both school divisions to have kids here learning about growing to increase our nutrition program.”
O’Connor said the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood had everything the food bank was asking for.
“(It’s) In a great neighbourhood with great neighbours who are supportive of the work we do,” she said. “(It’s) centrally located and close to bus routes.”
Now that shovels are officially in the ground, O’Connor has had a hard time hiding her smile.
“I’m so excited, you can probably tell I’ve been gushing about things,” she said. “I’ve been at the food bank for almost 20 years, it feels like this is exactly the right time for us to be breaking ground.”
Nutrien gave the food bank $2.5 million to help support the project, which has a budget of $12 million.
Chris Reynolds, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Nutrien, said it’s rewarding to see the project finally underway.
“The passion and drive that Laurie O’Connor has brought to this project is contagious,” he said.
“To see this dream and her vision become a reality — that’s why I’m just so happy for Laurie, she puts her heart and soul into it.”
The new facility is expected to be open in spring 2027.
— with files from CKOM News
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