(file photo/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

Food Bank AGM

Door of Hope shows deficit in budget, increase in volunteering at AGM

Jun 20, 2019 | 5:02 PM

After a year of change, the Door of Hope food bank and soup kitchen is feeling stronger and healthier than ever according to chairperson Don Campbell.

The organization held their annual general meeting on June 18 where Campbell gave his report and presented the annual budget for 2018-19. The budget saw an $11,000 deficit, which is down from the previous year’s $60,000 shortfall.

Campbell said despite the deficit, they’ve had more volunteers helping in the kitchen and sorting donations than ever.

The food bank makes 215 food hampers a month on average and over 600 lunches for schools every month during the school year.

At the meeting, Natanis Davidsen gave the executive director’s report.

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Davidsen moved into the position on May 27 after acting as the food bank manager for the last year. Davidsen took over for Will Main who left and accepted a position as band manager for Flying Dust First Nation.

“It’s a new learning curve again which is exciting for me because I like to have new challenges,” said Davidsen. “Everyday is an adventure. Today, for example, I learned about five new things that I had no idea about prior. I have a lot of really great support. The board has been amazing with this ministry. They’re very supportive and very wise.”

Brennan Brander will take over as food bank manager.

“Brennan came here on a volunteer basis to help me with the Hope Centre and the food bank because it was such a huge job for one person it was getting a bit overwhelming,” Davidsen said. “He was essentially already trained for the job when the position came open.”

Davidsen’s report said there was some turnover in staff over the past year but the main ministry is now almost fully staffed. She noted the increase in volunteers and donations from unexpected places like Martin’s Store in Goodsoil.

“I think it’s really encouraging to see an uprise because we want to continue with that trend,” Davidsen said. “We’re looking at doing a lot more fundraising and stuff we can do to engage with the community a little bit more as well.”

Davidsen also reported their other programs like Tiny Treasures daycare and the Supportive Family Assistive Living Program are showing growth.

“I see a lot of growth,” Davidsen said. “We’re supposed to bring hope into people’s lives, so I think everything around us should reflect that and everything we do should reflect that.”

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nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Nikitaganov