DRYDEN — The local food bank is getting closer to reaching its goal of moving from Queen Street to Grand Trunk Avenue.
Dryden Food Bank manager Allen Huckabay said this week that expansion and renovation at 158 Grand Trunk Ave. will likely begin this summer for completion in 2026.
The non-profit is “still in the process of fundraising” for Project Hope, as the renovation and expansion project is called, he said.
“And we are hoping that some of the work on the building can be done in June, but for the larger portion of it our goal is to get going in August — that’s when the contractor is going to be able to get going on it.”
Huckabay said the Grand Trunk property, especially once warehouse space is added, will address a shortage of space at the food bank’s current Queen Street address.
The Project Hope capital campaign has been put “in a state of flux” by the recent Ontario election and current federal election, he said.
The government grant situation is uncertain “as there could be a changeover in government,” said Huckabay.
Uncertainty in the economy is also hampering the drive to fund Project Hope, he said.
“When you do a capital campaign, you’re looking at people’s disposable income that they would have extra, and right now people are finding that the extra money that they would give to a campaign may not necessarily be there in larger amounts.
“You may get smaller amounts — so instead of maybe somebody giving us a $5,000 check, they may only be able to give us $500.
“But we are seeing an uptick in some of the organizations around Dryden investing money into it, so we’re very thankful for that.”
Huckabay added that a “major kick-off” to a fundraising campaign will happen in a few weeks, when “we’ll be giving more of an update as far as how much money we’ve gotten in grants and how much has come in through corporations or organizations.”
The estimated cost for Project Hope has risen to $1.5 million from $1.3 million last summer, he said.
A move to the expanded Grand Trunk space would enable Dryden Food Bank to be an effective “satellite hub” or distribution centre for smaller food banks in the region, said Huckabay, who is on the board of the Regional Food Distribution Association.
Information on how to donate to the food bank is available at its website.
