Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Center receives $2.5M donation – Saskatoon | Globalnews.ca

Nutrien announced Monday that it has donated $2.5 million to Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Center.

Donation The organization’s $12 million capital campaign is expected to begin in the fall.

Nutrien’s donation is 20 percent of the total goal and goes toward a new location for the food bank. The Food Bank has purchased 425 Avenue P South and plans to open a single facility with enough space to operate under one roof.

“In our current building we’re bursting into, we have off-site storage for both non-perishable foods and frozen meals. Clearly we’ve lost some opportunities for new programming because we don’t have enough space to provide it. There isn’t enough room for that,” said Laurie O’Connor, executive director of the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Center.

Inflation is rising and O’Connor says that leaves more families — and often children — in need of support from a food bank.

“In the Emergency Food Bank Disruption Program, we’re now seeing 20,000 people a month,” O’Connor said.

4:26Rising inflation rates affect food insecurity in Canada

Mayor Charlie Clarke says the numbers reflect a growing problem in the city and that a new facility will help meet growing needs.

“It’s also really important for food banks and learning centers to have a better system to be able to meet those needs because it means people can have a basic need for food to survive,” Clark said. “

Nutrien is a longtime partner of the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Center. They have been working together for ten years and don’t plan to stop anytime soon.

Candace Ling, Nutrien’s Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, said, “Food solutions are one of our top priorities where we want to partner….

Although land has been purchased for the new location of the food bank, construction is not expected to begin in the next two to five years.