Safety Accessories for Transporting Donations

We are very thankful to the supporters of our Food Bank - Safe Food Transportation Project for increasing our capacity to safely and efficiently pick-up and transport donations. This project is a Community Grant supported by the George and Edna Hislop Family Fund and the John and Colleen MacDonald Family Fund held within the Stratford Perth Community Program.

The funding of this project allowed us to outfit our cube van with an e-tracking system to protect our donations and increase safety for our volunteer and staff delivery drivers. The e-tracking system allows us to secure loads and give our donors the confidence that their donations will arrive in the same condition and quality with which they are donated. This is a confidence that will ultimately help us to procure more foods and hygiene products from local grocers, retailers and farms.

The food-safe blue bins with dollies and lids were also funded through the grant. These bins collapse and open up as needed for ergonomic storage of unusually shaped and loose objects. In light of COVID-19, we have also found them to be especially useful for quarantining food donations until they are ready to be sorted.

An additional item we were able to purchase through this grant is a hand truck to help us pick up and deliver boxes and bins. The hand truck has the capacity to be steered with one-hand and the ability to secure loads while climbing stairs. This will prove useful when we deliver food to clients who live on upper floors that do not have elevators.

We are so grateful for these items that help us feed an every-increasing number of people in our community.