Despite government promises for a new home, this St. John's food bank is set to close
Food bank serves about 200 individuals and families each month
A food bank in the west end of St. John's will close its doors for good next week after it was unable to find a new home.
The future of the food bank at Corpus Christi Church had been up in the air since the building was sold last year. The provincial government said earlier this month that it would step in to make sure the food bank found a new home, but that hasn't come to fruition.
"I think it's very unfortunate that these people haven't come across with the promise that they made us," Sister Betty Morrissey, who has been involved with the food bank since she came to the parish, said Tuesday.
"These people, the people who came here last week, have nowhere to go next week."
Morrissey said closing the food bank next week will be heartbreaking, especially as the number of users has gone up in the past year. The food bank serves about 200 individuals and families each month, some of whom don't have access to transportation to head to other food banks without paying for it.
"[Closing] means to me a broken heart for someone," Morrissey said. "Some people can't make it from cheque to cheque. They don't have big dollars."
Cathy Fleming, the food bank's pantry manager and a volunteer there for 20 years, said on Friday alone the food bank received around 40 calls, which ended with having to tell those people the food bank was closing next week.
"They were disappointed.… A lot of our customers, they come religiously every month for their supplies," Fleming said. "They're coming back because of the rising cost of groceries."
Fleming said the food bank has been actively searching for a suitable new home for weeks: a space of about 1,000 to 1,500 square feet, ideally located in the west end so it can continue to serve the area's residents.
In an email to CBC News, the provincial government says it's continuing to work with the food bank to secure a new location — adding anyone who is unable to have access to food should call 211 to learn about emergency food programs in their area.
With files from Heather Gillis
