The month of June has arrived and we have positive news to share. Given how well the province is coping with the gradual easing of health and safety restrictions, we have decided to ease up on some of our current safety protocols. The most noticeable change will be with our Help Yourself Shelf program. Starting on Tuesday June 2, we will begin to allow clients into the facility to make their own food selections, provided they follow the enforced safety protocols. For those clients who are uncomfortable with this, we will continue to offer the options of either prepacked food and/or the HYS online form.
Safety protocols to be followed include:
- Entry limited to two clients at a time; clients waiting for entry will be spaced 2 metres apart
- Clients’ hands are sanitized at entrance
- Masks will not be provided – clients are encouraged to bring their own non-medical mask (Foodbank staff will be wearing PPE)
- Social distancing of 2 metres will be maintained between clients and Foodbank staff
- Visits to the Help Yourself Shelves will be limited to 10 minutes
- Shopping baskets (on wheels) will now be used in place of bags
- Clients will make their food selections and a Foodbank staff member will place the items in the carts
- Clients will wheel the shopping basket to their vehicle and remove food items there; the shopping basket will be returned to the entrance of the Foodbank
- After each 10-minute session, the Foodbank door will be locked to allow for sanitization of the area and the shopping baskets (approx. 5 minutes)
- Access to washroom facilities is not permitted at this time
The current format of the Hamper distribution program will remain in place for the month of June.
The Many Hands Soup Program will remain on hiatus over the summer months, as will the Fresh Food of the Month Program. On a happier note, our Community Learning Garden has been planted and we are working closely with the HOC to ensure compliance.
We are excited to be making these small steps back towards normalcy and so looking forward to sharing our new warehouse with the clients again!
Kind regards,
Pamela and the Okotoks Foodbank Team