The Moose Jaw & District Food Bank will be temporarily closed next week.
The closure is expected to last from Monday, Oct. 21 through Monday Oct. 28 while the organization transitions to their new ‘Client-Choice Shopping Model’.
“The Client-Choice Shopping Model is a model of emergency food distribution that enables clients to select their own foods, similar to a grocery store. It’s different than the pre-made hampers that we’ve typically handed out,” explained Jason Moore, executive director of the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank.
“Those hampers may not have met the unique dietary or culturally and ethically appropriate choices that they would need for their households.”
The new model is set to launch with the re-opening of the food bank on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Moore said that people in need of emergency food support during the closure will still have access to their surplus program, and they will post details on their Facebook page on how to access it once finalized.
With the launch of the new model, clients will need to book appointments prior to using the food bank, so they can ensure there is adequate space for everyone to pick out their items.
The food bank will start accepting appointment bookings on Oct. 25. "They can do that by calling in and following the prompts on our answering machine. We’re just asking people to make sure that they leave one message, and somebody will call them back within one business day to set up a time for them to come in and shop.”
For those who don’t have a phone, Moore said they are asked to come to the food bank in person to set an appointment.
They’re aiming to have up to 60 appointments available per day. “We’ll be open from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. every day, with shopping intervals at every 5 minutes.”
The local food bank has seen a large increase in usage over the last couple of years, making meeting the demand more difficult.
Moore wanted to reiterate to the public that the food bank is for those facing food insecurity. “It isn’t a service that’s there for people to find a way to save a little bit of money so they can spend it on something that they might not necessarily need.”
“We’re trying to educate our community on that – that this is service is an emergency service.”
The Moose Jaw & District Food Bank serves around 800 households every month.