Sources Langley Food Bank has plans to expand distribution this year, launching a new delivery service for people with mobility issues and hunting for space to open a depot in Aldergrove.
Jaye Murray, Sources program director, said a deliberately nondescript van is being used to get food to people who would have trouble lining up at the food bank at 20445 62nd Avenue.
“The idea is to get to clients who have mobility issues or people who are having surgery,” Murray told the Langley Advance Times.
People have to qualify for the service, Murray stressed.
“It’s not shop-by-phone.”
“If you have a client who’s coming in with a walker or a scooter, it’s pretty obvious [they qualify].”
It is similar to the service Sources provides at its White Rock/South Surrey food bank, which delivers to as many as as 30 people a month.
“It varies,” Murray noted.
“Some people pass away, some recover from surgery [and stop using the services].”
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Deliveries were set to start Tuesday, Jan. 12.
“It’ll be a great resource for our clients who have friends, family or caseworkers pick up [for them].”
This year, the big priority is finding space in Aldergrove for food distribution.
“That’s our next mission, to get a depot in Aldergrove,” Murray said.
It could be a pop-up, similar to the original Sources Langley location, which operated out of a church basement.
“If we just had a room somewhere,” Murray said, it would make it easier for people in need to access Sources in Aldergrove.
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Since it originally opened in 2014, the Langley Sources food bank has seen its client list expand considerably.
“It’s really grown since the early days,” Murray commented.
During the pandemic, she said people aren’t coming in every week, but the monthly average is still around 1,000 clients.
Distribution days are Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
People are being asked to line up two metres apart, and those feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19, are asked to stay home and have a family member come instead.
READ ALSO: Sources low-barrier food bank opens in Langley
After the Langley Food Bank quit Food Banks BC, the association asked Sources to set up a food bank in the community in 2015.
It is a non-profit group that has operated a food bank serving South Surrey/White Rock for over 30 years.
A member of Food Banks BC and Food Banks Canada, it provides community members in need of a minimum of two days worth of food per person per week. Formula and diapers are provided for babies.
Individuals and families who live on a low income in the Langley area (0 Avenue to the Fraser River, east of 196th Street and west of 276th Street) are eligible to receive food bank services.
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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