Food banks allowed to open to St. John's, city says after some confusion

As grocery stores open for a second day during a state of emergency in St. John's, some food banks are beginning to open, as the people who run them get clarity on the rules.

"I've heard some commentary that they weren't allowed to open, but they were," St. John's Mayor Danny Breen said Wednesday.

"I've been talking to a couple of those [food bank] operators and they have some challenges that they're trying to overcome to get them open."

On Tuesday, Megan Marshall, a board member of Bridges to Hope, said the building on Cookstown Road in St. John's was encased in ice. 

"If we were to open the food bank, and there's others in the city as well, that would have to be an incredibly co-ordinated effort, I think, with security and police involved for the safety of everyone involved," she said.

Prior to the storm, the food aid centre in St. John's was busy, Marshall said, and she and other volunteers are worried about how much food those people have left. 

"I'd say the people who got the little bit that they did then are without and thinking of them trying to get to the store … it's really upsetting. I know we're feeling pretty helpless here," she said Tuesday.

Salvation Army opens Mount Pearl food bank

Salvation Army Maj. Rene Loveless said they are seeking clear direction on whether or not they could open in St. John's during the state of emergency.

"At a time like this, vulnerable people need to know someone cares," Loveless said Wednesday morning. 

Loveless said he is trying to get answers from the city or province.

Meanwhile, the Mount Pearl Salvation Army Food Bank is open Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Salvation Army is asking people in an emergency to call 709-764-7294.

Volunteers are biding time by packing emergency food hampers. 

The City of St. John's did not issue a news release about whether or not food banks would open.

In a post on Twitter on Tuesday, Coun. Ian Froude said, "We specially reached out to food banks yesterday; and again today. It wasn't in the release because we didn't want people to be confused because we weren't confident they would be open.

"We are in touch with them to try and address the barriers to them being open."

Restaurant owner makes passionate plea

And the need for food is great, according to the owner of the Sweet Newfie Kitchen in Mount Pearl.

Jaime Ryan started a Community Blessing Box, an ice cream cooler filled with food, and it was emptied by the end of Tuesday.

Ryan was giving out free meals, no questions asked. 

"I was leaving the shop at 7:30 and there was an elderly couple that hadn't eaten a hot meal in three days," she said in an emotional video posted on the business's Facebook page.

The couple, she said, had walked across Mount Pearl in order to find food.

In tears, Ryan said she spent time on the phone with seniors who "hadn't eaten in days, and screeched and bawled because we were able to help them."

When Ryan went to open up the restaurant Wednesday, there were bags of food waiting outside.

"We are now being flooded with food donations and sending truckloads over to our local food banks!" Ryan updated. "Keep it coming folks!"

The Gathering Place, a hub in the centre of the city that officers a number of services to those less fortunate, is open on reduced hours. They have been busy serving up lunch following the storm. 

Some people gave taken it upon themselves to help their neighbours and the larger community through a food-sharing Facebook page.

"There's a stigma attached to not having food, not having money, not stocking up before a storm," said Mark Wilson, who started the Facebook page.

"If people don't have money to do that, they definitely don't do that."

Wilson and his friends baked bread and delivered loaves to people who didn't have any. 

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