Jan. 31, 2023 — Press release from the Burlington Food Bank
Robin Bailey, Executive Director at the Burlington Food Bank, announced today that they will be opening a Food Distribution Centre located at 5280 Mainway, Unit 5, Burlington. The new venture will be an exciting opportunity to continue the Food Bank’s mission to “provide nutritious food to the hungry of our community in a dignified and timely manner.”
This expansion of the Food Bank’s facilities stems from lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Robin Bailey and the team at the Burlington Food Bank have seen a continuing rise year over year in the number of requests for food assistance within the community. In conjunction with this rise, the team has also seen the wider Burlington community step up and help to feed their neighbours. This change in food security needs has also seen a similar growth across the Region of Halton and in turn, has led to the identification of the necessity for a more concerted food distribution hub.
The current Burlington Food Bank, located at 1A – 1254 Plains Road East will continue to operate as the pickup location for clients of the Burlington Food Bank serving out of the west end of the city and open to all residents of Burlington. Meanwhile, the new Mainway distribution facility will be used to serve not only the Food Bank’s Plains Road East location but will also expand its ability to help the wider network of food security solutions found across the City of Burlington and out into the Region of Halton. The Food Bank is excited about the opportunity to extend its network while equipping and strengthening its current partnerships across the region.
When asked about the new development Robin Bailey said, “We’re in a position that we can reach out through other agencies to all of Burlington. That we can truly be ‘The Burlington Food Bank’ by serving agencies as they serve their neighbours. We used to be Partnership West and now we’re Burlington Food Bank. It’s because we’re trying to serve the whole of Burlington. We know that we have great partners throughout the city and beyond, and we want to support them as they support their local communities even better.”
Robin and the board of the Burlington Food Bank are thankful to the developers, Melrose Investments for their support in this project. They will gain possession of the new location in October 2023 and are looking forward to their distribution beginning in late 2023. They are currently looking for local Burlington community partners interested in helping to equip and stock the new facility.
About the Burlington Food Bank: We have been proudly serving Burlington since 1991. Our role in the community is to collect, purchase, grow, and distribute food directly to families in Burlington that need a little help. A client can visit our food bank once every three weeks and we provide between seven and ten days’ worth of food.
