Echo Food Rescue has expanded its facilities to continue its mission of fighting food waste.
The facility's grand opening will be May 26th at 2:30 p.m., just before the usual food distribution time of 3 p.m.
“This is perfect timing as we want to celebrate with the community who come to Food Rescue every week,” Echo Food Rescue manager Christina Sturgeon said.
This expansion was made possible with support from a Farm Credit Canada AgriSpirit Grant.
“The reason we applied for the grant was to increase our ability to bring in more food, which is why we needed additional cooler space and some storage options,” Sturgeon said. “We'd like to utilize the space better so we can bring in more things.”
A cooler box was needed because there was a large amount of food coming in.
“We can bring in as much food as we can find locally and have no problem finding people to take it home and put it on the table right away,” Ms Sturgeon said. “That's the key to the food we bring in. Food is reaching the end of its lifespan and needs to be on someone's table right away.”
She explained that food relief efforts receive additional produce from farms and local gardeners throughout the summer, and the extra space helps keep produce fresh.
In addition to expanding space and storage, the facility was also painted.
“We had an amazing muralist come in and paint a beautiful mural on the wall, which made it even more fun,” Sturgeon said. “When people come, it makes the space feel better.”
Going forward, Sturgeon's goal is to expand the amount of food distributed and increase the number of days the food rescue mission operates.
“We're just trying to give away as much food as we can,” Sturgeon said. “The first year we started operating, we were keeping 65,000 pounds of food from the landfill, and last year we were over 100,000 pounds.”
During the grand reopening, Lacombe and area residents can take a tour of the new facility, enjoy cake and learn more about the food rescue's mission on Sundays before the regular food distribution at 2:30 p.m. can.
