Regina Wednesday was a busy day at City Hall as the executive committee looked at the various items on the agenda with a large number of delegations.
First of all, the Regina Food Bank It hopes to secure a drive-thru lot as part of a new downtown location.
The space for the new food hub has already been purchased from the province. The food bank entered into a deal to purchase the former SLGA store on 12th Avenue at “below market value”.
The executive committee voted unanimously to lease an empty lot on 12th Street behind the shuttered SLGA store to house a drive-thru in the new food bank location.
The Food Hub will be different from the existing services as it draws inspiration from the concept of a grocery store where people can choose what they need most.
They will also be able to access the services through the drive-thru.
Regina Food Bank gets creative to show families the amount of food they need
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Alicia Morrow said, “By securing this and supporting the food bank in building the first grocery store of its kind, it will provide a humane way to give this experience to not only indigenous people but working class and so many different people. ” said one of the delegation and CEO of The Comeback Society.
Kaytlin Barber of the Regina Food Bank said they feed more than 12,000 people a month, support more than 1,500 students, distribute 13,000 pounds of food a day and operate without government funding.
“When people are food insecure, our education, health care and economic outcomes suffer. Today we offer a partnership to bring healthy food to more people,” she said.
Shauna Fleiman, also from the food bank, said that moving the food bank downtown would increase access by 108 percent.
David Froh of the Food Bank said that the Food Hub would be vibrant and operate like a grocery store, adding that the food would still be free but with more dignity and a better experience.
“The more locally grown food, the site will be bright, open and a hub of outdoor safe activity,” he said.
“Together we can feed our neighbors and rejuvenate an underserved corner of our city,” said John Bailey, CEO of the Regina Food Bank.
The Executive Council of Regina is also considering purchasing land so that the Cowes First Nation can facilitate the development of an urban indigenous health centre.
Cowes owns the entire block of land between Albert and Angus Streets and 6th and 7th Avenues. The purchase of land will take the Urban Reserve project to its final stage of completion.
Chief Cadmus Delorme says the facility will be open to all people, not just indigenous people.
“This urban Indigenous health center will have primary care, secondary care and we are finalizing a partnership with SHA. Accessible to all … but imagine a four-story building there that will have an Indigenous worldview,” he said.
The proposal was passed unanimously in the executive committee on Wednesday.
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