Lorette food bank expands with growing need

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This article was published 03/04/2024 (411 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The number of families using the Tache Food Resource Centre in Lorette doubled in two years, and it is now expanding to make room and meet the demand.

The food bank and Lorette Thrifty Treasures were successful in convincing Tache council to allow them to put an addition onto the back of the old RM administration building still owned by the municipality on Dawson Road.

The food bank now provides food hampers to 97 families, totaling 306 people who need help with groceries. That’s up from 47 families in 2022, according to board member and volunteer coordinator Irene Bialek.

“We need space for storing our food inventory, and we need space to assemble the hampers our clients are picking up,” explained Bialek to council.

The current space has three commercial freezers, one domestic freezer, eight full-size shelving units, and nine banquet tables.

“We’ve resorted to storing food in bins under the tables because we’re so short of space,” said Bialek.

Those tables are used to assemble 160-170 grocery bags for two days of pickups per week in Lorette alone.

The RM got a $15,000 provincial grant for a lean-to addition to the food bank. Thrifty Treasures teamed up with the food bank to fund the new space.

The thrift store has come a long way in 40 years, but has also become cramped, according to Lorette Thrifty Treasures president Suzanne Moore.

“We exist for a purpose; our purpose is to give back to the community,” said Moore.

The thrift store is not thrifty with its donations, giving to the Tache library building fund, Lorette Family Fun Group for Fun Days, the RM recreation fund, and the Tache Food Resource Centre itself.

When the food bank’s board told the thrift store their plan to expand, Thrifty Treasures decided it could help the food bank and itself by joining in the project.

“Our manager of the facility is working in a shoebox, she has a very small office,” said Lorette Thrifty Treasures vice president Allan Rau at council.

He said there are over 50 volunteers who could use the space. Rau said the thrift store’s portion would cost about $41,000, which he said they have already saved up.

The addition would extend 10 to 12 feet off the back, with each organization responsible for 28 feet of length. The food bank’s portion would be where hampers could be picked up.

Tache Mayor Armand Poirier was hoping to add a requirement that the engineer’s report come back to council for approval, with a desire for extra scrutiny on a municipally owned building. But a motion was passed without that extra requirement. An engineer needs to approve any project like this before it receives a building permit.

The Food Resource Centre and Thrifty Treasures hope to have the expansion done by the end of July.