The Iroquois Falls Food Bank will have a new home next year. A group of local volunteers is stepping up to keep the service running. The food bank will move to the Iroquois Falls Bible Church on Victoria Road in January. The change comes as the current operators prepare to retire. A group of schoolteachers will take over operations, with plans to serve clients at least twice a month. “It’s going to be at the Iroquois Falls Bible Church. It’s located on Victoria Road in Iroquois Falls and they have graciously donated the space,” said Ardis Proulx, manager of the Cochrane Regional Food Bank. “They will be trying to operate two times a month at the minimum.” The existing food bank will continue serving clients through the end of the year before the transition to the new location. The Cochrane Regional Food Bank will help supply the new operation, while organizers are also reaching out to community partners for equipment and other items needed to get the new location up and running. Proulx said organizers are focused on making sure residents who rely on the service know where and when they can access it. “We’re going to try to ensure that we’re reaching everybody,” Proulx said. “We’ll do social media campaign as well to ensure that people are being reached.” Proulx said some people who use food services do so only occasionally, making outreach especially important. “There are individuals that don’t access food service every single month. Sometimes they’re only accessing it twice a year,” she explained. Officials said the new food bank is the result of local volunteers, the church and community partners working together to ensure the service continues in Iroquois Falls.
