New food bank opens in Kinmount

Kawartha Lakes Food Source (KLFS) is opening a new food bank in Kinmount — the home town of local MPP Laurie Scott.

The new food bank is made possible with funding from Food Banks Canada and Enterprise Holding Foundation. It will be located at the Baptist Church (side entrance) at 4937 Monck Rd., and is scheduled to open December 13. It will operate two Thursdays a month. The new food bank will help to serve the northern region of City of Kawartha Lakes. The Kinmount and Area Food Bank aims to serve clients in their own community, increase their access to food and reduce barriers such as lack of transportation or distance to travel.

The Kinmount and Area Food Bank will operate with a shopping style model. This model follows best practices as established by the Ontario Association of Food Banks.  Best practices is about providing client choice and dignity and in turn reduce stigma related to food insecurity. Clients will be able to choose foods based on preference and their knowledge of and access to equipment to prepare the foods chosen (i.e. access to stove vs a microwave).

The Kinmount and Area Food Bank will be a member of KLFS and will receive food on a monthly fair share basis from our distribution centre in Lindsay. The Kinmount and Area Food Bank led by volunteers Julie Wilkin and Grace McDonald welcomes the community’s support.

Julie and Grace, who have over 30 years combined food bank experience, have witnessed firsthand the distance people travel from Kinmount and other northern rural communities to access food banks; the distance to the nearest food bank is currently over 20 km.

The Kinmount and Area Food Bank has been well received by community members who are actively working together to make food more accessible in their area. “The church is excited to further their outreach by housing the Kinmount and Area Food Bank,” said Julie Wilkin, volunteer coordinator Kinmount and Area Food Bank. While the food bank will be housed in the local church, it is a public initiative that will be run by and supported by the community. You can help by volunteering or donating to the food bank.

For more information on how to help or to access the food bank, please contact the Kinmount and Area Food Bank at . For emergency assistance, call 705 455 3060.