$36K for another food bank worker

UPDATE: The story has been changed to add comments from the Fort St. John Salvation Army’s executive director, Jared Braun.

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Salvation Army is receiving $36,223 to hire an additional food bank worker.

The funding announced by the province on Tuesday comes from the recent intake of the Northern Healthy Communities Fund. A total of $2.1 million is being doled out to eight projects in the north.

The Salvation Army will use the money to hire an additional full-time worker to increase the food bank’s capacity.

Jared Braun, executive director of the Fort St. John Salvation Army, said he noticed the increased need in the community and saw the strain on his staff, so they decided it may be a good plan to add more staff to help the growing demand on running the food bank.

“We wanted to develop and evolve the food bank to be a more dignified experience, so that meant reshaping the flow and the format of the food bank to allow people more autonomy in choosing their food,” Braun said.

“And having a more efficient system that doesn’t keep them waiting in a queue, but more being able to come in, sit down, socialize, have a cup of coffee and then take their own shopping cart and select the items off the shelves that they feel they will need for their diet, for their household.”

Braun added that they have already filled the position and are training her in supporting the food bank reception and in client engagement.

Since its inception, the Northern Healthy Communities Fund, has supported 54 projects across Northern B.C. with over $7.1 million.