North Bay food bank says it's prepared for food shortage, though not experiencing one yet

North Bay food bank prepared for food shortage Putting extra food away in the freezer is one way North Bay's The Gathering Place is preparing in case of a food shortage.

Putting extra food away in the freezer is one way The Gathering Place is preparing in case of a food shortage.

“We’ve already started some contingency planning," said Dennis Chippa, executive director of The Gathering Place. “We have a walk-in freezer unit, so when food comes in we stick it in the freezer for now."

“We take in the food, then we keep it ourselves and hand it out to other agencies. Down the road, we have to take care of our clients and ourselves, so down the road, if it becomes a crisis, we will probably just keep more of the food.”

While Chippa is prepared, experts told CTV News that Canadians have nothing to worry about.

“Canadians should have no concern about food availability,” said Michelle Wasylyshen, spokesperson for the Retail Council of Canada.

“There is food on the grocery store shelves. There is no overall threat to the overall robustness of the food supply chain.”

Demand remains high at The Gathering Place, Chippa said, but they will continue to be able to serve all clients.

“We don’t think we will be that impacted yet. Maybe (at the) end of February, maybe we will start to see something, but right now we are going to hang in,” he said.

“We will fill the freezer gradually and if it doesn’t happen, that’s great, we will have more food available.”