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Rising costs nailing area food banks

The head of the Ontario Association of Food Banks is coming to Timmins to help address concerns about potential cost increases in storing food shipped from Toronto.

The Toronto-based association trucks non-perishable items to the Cochrane Food Bank warehouse which also functions as the hub for about 15 food banks from Kapuskasing in the north to Cobalt in the south.

Rick Young, chairman of the Timmins Food Bank, said having the items shipped to one warehouse in the North provides a saving to the food banks throughout the region. He said it would be more costly if the trucks had to stop and unload at every food bank within the region. It would also be more costly if each community had to have its own warehouse.

In the past, the Cochrane Food Bank was able to manage its costs by leasing out space to another business. However, when Canadian Tire built its new store in Cochrane and moved out of the building, the food bank lost a large share of revenue, explained Young, who also sits as president of the Cochrane Region Food Banks Association.
"They were running a $60,000 deficit this year so they had to cut costs," he said.

Up until recently, the Cochrane Food Bank had four-paid staff members helping to manage the warehouse. Two of those positions were eliminated at the end of December.

Now, there is talk that the food banks throughout the region may have to ante up and pay a little more to keep the Cochrane warehouse operating for them.

"My main concern is the cost, what it's going to cost the region," said Young. "All these other food banks cannot afford a lot of extra money to run that regional warehouse in Cochrane."

Adam Spence, executive director of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, is meeting with Young and other members of the Timmins Food Bank to discuss concerns about maintaining the regional warehouse at minimal cost.
"He's coming up to Timmins on Feb. 1," Young explained. "He wants to tour our food bank and he also wants to have a meeting with us.

"I think Adam Spence wants to see what the options are, he wants to look at everything and he'll go back to Toronto and sit down and weigh both ends and make a decision as to how he can help us."
Establishing a warehouse somewhere else would come with a cost. Young doesn't believe having the hub in Timmins or another community is necessarily the solution.

"The advantage of having it in Cochrane is that it's costing us very little money," he said. "If we can stay in Cochrane and there are no additional costs to the regional members. That's my bottom line as president. I'm hoping we can keep it in Cochrane but keep the costs very minimal."

Young said the food banks throughout the region have enough problems as it is with steadily rising number of clients.
"Right now in Timmins, we have over 1,400 families registered. And we've been averaging 11 new families a week for the last four-and-a-half months. Most are young families. And to be perfectly honest with you, the husband or boyfriend is usually working minimum wage, by the time they pay their rent, there's no money left for food. The sad part is there are usually kids involved. They can't look after themselves and they've got one or two kids they're trying to care for."

Young said the meeting with Spence will also provide the Timmins Food Bank chairman the opportunity to talk about some of the food they've been receiving from Toronto. Throughout the year, the Ontario association makes about six shipments to the Cochrane region.

"I'm not entirely happy with the food we're getting up from Toronto. We'll get a transport up from Cochrane but maybe half the transport will be shredded wheat or cereal. There's nothing wrong with that but there's a limit to how much of that we can use."

Young said among those expected to sit in on the meeting with Spence are MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP -Timmins- James Bay) and Mayor Tom Laughren who also happens to be a member of the Timmins Food Bank board.

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The Timmins Daily Press
Ron Grech
Fri Jan 22 2010