Food Bank hosts Open House
A joint event with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brings attention to growing needs
This Saturday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be conducting its annual city-wide food drive. In conjunction with this initiative, the Red Deer Food Bank is once again opening its doors to allow the public to see first-hand all the developments that has taken place over the past few years.
“Our first Open House was last spring as a celebration of our 40th anniversary,” says Mitch Thomson, Executive Director of the Food Bank. “It was such a success we decided we wanted to continue this new event going forward.”
The public is welcome to come by and not only donate food or funds, but also see the changes in the food services, distribution and production areas of the Food Bank.
“Visitors will have the choice of a self-paced tour they can take on their own or they can join a group as staff take people around the facility. We will also have some 5- and 10-minute presentations for people with specific interests in and questions for our various departments,” Thomson adds.
For those who are interested in a closer look at particular areas, the following presentation windows are planned:
11:00 am – 12:00 pm — Hydroponic Sea Cans
11:30 am – 12:30 pm — Co-op Community Spaces Food Farm
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm — Microgreens
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm — Greenhouse
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm — Kitchen 49/Culinary Services
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm — Warehouse
Outside of the times stated, food production operations will be closed to the public with information available near the growing units. Kitchen 49 will be accessible all day.
The ice cream truck will be available for picking up a discounted ice cream for anyone who wants a treat. Other free food samples will be available throughout the day.
“We decided not to do the barbecue this year,” added Thomson, “in order to give people an opportunity to sample a wider variety of tastes that can come from our excellent chefs here, and better profile the quality of product and service our team can provide.”
The open house opens at 11 am and will wrap up mid-afternoon.
For more information about the Red Deer Food Bank, please email admin@reddeerfoodbank.com or call 403-342-5355.