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As part of its efforts to improve food security and distribution capacity, the Regina Food Bank (RFB) has announced an initiative to address food insecurity in the community.
Funding from Farm Credit Canada (FCC) will enable this initiative to introduce container farming to fight hunger.
1:05 RFB, FCC Partner to Grow Fresh Food in Containers
“You need food to run a food bank,” said RFB Community Vice President David Flow. “When you go from feeding 6,000 people a month to 16,000 people, you need a lot of food. When you go from spending $90,000 a year buying groceries to $1 million buying groceries, you have to be very strategic about how you partner, how you source, how you procure.”
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RFB CEO and President John Bailey said the need in the local community has grown exponentially and it was time for RFB to start doing things a little differently.
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“One of the ways we're doing that is by starting to grow our own produce in-house,” Bailey said. “We're currently sourcing and should be shipping out within the next month or two. Our first harvest is expected to be in early fall this year, which means we'll be providing fresh produce, grown right here, to our community.”
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The FCC Chairman and CEO said this initiative is an innovative approach, so a lot can happen.
“I think we'll see how this project ultimately expands beyond just our hometown of Regina and what it means for other food banks across Canada,” said Justin Hendricks. . “We know modular farming is a somewhat new concept, but if food banks can prove the test case, it will really start to change in terms of how they support local communities in terms of access to food. There is a possibility.”
RFB is excited about the job it can play in providing a catalyst for the economy by creating more jobs.
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