Food And Drinks

Regina Meals Financial institution seems to be so as to add downtown location

By Frank C. Bonner

  1. Local News

Downtown Community Food Hub would operate at 1881 Broad Street, former site of an SLGA liquor store.

The Regina Food Bank is looking to expand and add another location in Regina, and it could be the former SLGA building on the corner of 12th Avenue and Broad Street. This location will complement, not replace, the existing location at 445 Winnipeg Street. The Regina Food Bank is looking to expand and add another location in Regina, and it could be the former SLGA building on the corner of 12th Avenue and Broad Street. This location will complement, not replace, the existing location at 445 Winnipeg Street. Photo by TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post

The Regina Food Bank (RFB) is in the early stages of an expansion which would see a proposed downtown community food hub opened to serve clients in a more central location.

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The food bank is looking to open up the food hub at 1881 Broad St. in a former government liquor store, which would serve as “primary food distribution point for the RFB,” to complement its existing location on Winnipeg Street — not replace it.

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“We’re anticipating it’s going to be the place that folks will want to come (over the Winnipeg Street location) but the big thing that will be different about this place is it won’t be distributing hampers. It’ll function more in a choice model,” John Bailey, CEO of the food bank, said Tuesday.

The downtown hub would “look, feel, and operate more like a grocery store,” that would see people pick the food they want in their hamper, Bailey said. The distribution of prefab hampers and delivery would still be available as an option.

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The RFB board will have to approve the proposal first, which is expected in January. The cost of the project is estimated at $3.2 million.

Once the administrative work is complete, Bailey expects the location could be up and running in 12 to 18 months, early 2024.

The food bank’s main location is at 445 Winnipeg St. in the northeast portion of the city, which the food bank itself described in a press release as “far removed from the families” it serves. It formerly operated closer to the city’s core, in a building at 2201 1st Ave., before the move to its current site in 2005.

The food bank distributes more than 13,000 pounds of food per day and has 12,000 clients each month. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the food bank was distributing about half the amount of food daily it currently provides.

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“We’ve done a ton of work to get to this point but there’s still a long way to go before we’re ready to open doors on this potential new site,” Bailey said.

Bailey said the food bank researched how to improve access to its services and the downtown location was flagged as an area of interest, adding the additional location could essentially double client access to the food bank’s main programming.

The food bank will be before the city’s executive committee on Wednesday, where it’s asking for a one-time payment of $200,000 from the City of Regina, a property tax exemption on the former SLGA liquor store and an adjacent city-owned property, which the food bank proposes it lease from the city for $1 per year.

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City administration is recommending the proposal be approved.

The Regina Food Bank is looking to expand and add another location in Regina, and it could be the former SLGA building on the corner of 12th Avenue and Broad Street on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 in Regina. The Regina Food Bank is looking to expand and add another location in Regina, and it could be the former SLGA building on the corner of 12th Avenue and Broad Street on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 in Regina. Photo by TROY FLEECE /Regina Leader-Post

The food bank is looking to lease a vacant lot, at 1720 12th Ave., behind the former liquor store, which it would use for a drive-through check point for the food hampers.

Under the current recommendation of city administration, if approved, the city would pave the lot, which would see freestanding structures situated on the lot for the drive-through aspect.

“The whole intention of this is to make it easier and decrease some of those barriers to access that (clients) might have now just because of our current location,” Bailey said.

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