Donated portable classroom to be new home of Port Lambton food bank

The Sacred Heart Food Bank is expected to move into a new location in Port Lambton in time for this year’s Christmas hamper project.

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Recently, a used portable classroom donated by the St. Clair Catholic District School Board was moved a few blocks from the board’s elementary school in the St. Clair Township community to the Sacred Heart Church property.

Once work to prepare the portable is completed, the food bank which has been in the basement of the St. James the Apostle Anglican Church for several years is expected to move in, said Frank Johnston, with the food bank committee.

“We’re in the process of anchoring the building down,” he said.

“Once that’s done, we’re going to build a deck to provide accessibility and ease the loading of hampers during the annual Christmas hamper project,” Johnston said.

Other preparations include connecting the portable to an electricity supply, installing shelving, and a refrigerator and freezer.

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Currently, the food bank uses another community group’s freezer to store meat donated by a supplier, Johnson said.

“I’m hoping we’re in before November,” he said.

Johnston said he anticipates the food bank will distribute between 65 and 80 Christmas food hampers this coming holiday season.

It also currently serves about 20 families a month in the former Sombra Township. That number has grown by about six in the last year.

“The dollar just doesn’t go as far,” he said. “Groceries are so expensive.”

Along with food donations, the food bank has been purchasing extra groceries to meet the need, Johnston said.

“This year we’ve spent a little over $5,000 on food to restock,” he said.

“The public is still donating,” he added, “They’re helping out quite a bit. Every week I’m getting something.”

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Currently, there are 22 members on the church’s food bank committee, Johnston said.

The portable will have more space than the basement the food bank is currently using, as well as being more accessible, he said.

Johnston said the move was initiated when a food bank committee member, a former teacher, heard a laptop at the local school might become available.

Johnston said he approached a school board official two years ago about the possibility of it being donated to the food bank and eventually it was approved.

He said the food bank appreciates the support from the community’s Anglican church in providing space in its basement for the last decade.

Also, he said, “a lot of community-minded people” pitched in to help make the move to the portable possible.

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“The Optimist Club, the athletic association and the Knights of Columbus, they were all involved in making donations,” Johnston said.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen, to be honest with you,” he said. “People, when they stepped up, they really stepped up.”

The laptop, which was updated in recent years by the school board, is in good condition, Johnston said.

“This collaboration exemplifies the power of community,” education director Scott Johnson said in a news release. “It’s inspiring to see how our collective efforts can make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”

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@ObserverPaulM

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