Kids First Food Bank gets new look

Parents can now walk down the isle of this "grocery store" style facility in the Windsor Homes Coalition building at 900 Howard Ave in Windsor, Ont., on Thursday, June 13, 2019. (Stefanie Masotti / CTV Windsor)

The Kids First Food Bank in Windsor now has a new look.

Parents can now walk down the isle of this "grocery store" style facility in the Windsor Homes Coalition building at 900 Howard Ave.

In the past, clients would show up and receive a bag full of food.

Windsor Homes Coalition executive director Angela Yakonich says the new approach gives people who use the food bank a greater sense of dignity.

There is also plenty of activities for children to use while their parent shop.

Last October, the food bank closed due to a lack of food but it was able to reopen thanks to hundreds of donations from across Windsor-Essex.

Yakonich tells CTV Windsor the food bank serves about 900 people per week.

"It's very difficult,” says Yakonich. “Right now, Windsor-Essex County is in a housing crisis so the rate of rent has skyrocketed, so the sad reality is that people have to choose between paying for rent and their utilities over food.”

The Kids First Food Bank has also partnered with Second Harvest and Foodrescue.ca – so that food from grocery stores and restaurants can be saved from being thrown out.