Food hamper program for families expands to Yellowknife

A program to create food hampers for families in need has expanded to Yellowknife. 

The new program, run by the Salvation Army in Yellowknife, is a partnership between Purolator and Food Banks Canada and plans to provide food hampers filled with groceries for people in the city. 

People can pick up the hampers on Monday and Thursdays between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with large food hampers providing a variety of grocery items and supplies, according to Derek Pluchinski, the program manager at Yellowknife's Salvation Army.

If there are greater needs for families, they can return after two weeks to receive a small food hamper, Pluchinski said. 

Pluchinski said they will also provide recipes to help people find new quick and easy ways to prepare food. 

He said without the funding from Food Banks Canada and Purolator, the Salvation Army would have to purchase the food out of its budget. 

"We are already stretched and over our budget, three months into our fiscal year," he said. "So by receiving these kind of donations, we were able to stretch our dollar further to help those who come to us in need," Pluchinski said. 

Stefanson Fritsch, the regional transportation manager with Western Canada Purolator, said that he saw people coming in to get food from the new program. 

"I was fortunate enough to help with this first delivery in Yellowknife," he said. "While we were completing this delivery we got the opportunity to see some people utilizing the food bank service." 

Pluchinski said they're serving about 60 families a week through the food hamper program and that additional items received will be used for those hampers.