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 of: two clients at a time, 2 metre social distancing, 10-minute visitation, etc. If you wish to know more of the specific safety protocols in place around this program, contact us for greater detail.
The current format of the Hamper Distribution Program will remain in place for the month of June. Mid-month, we will be reaching out to past Hamper Team Leaders to discuss the suitability of reviving the weekly hamper distribution schedule with the various church groups. These conversations will also be influenced by the provincial and health parameters in place at that time.
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.
For volunteers who are considering resuming their work at the Foodbank, we are now at a point in time to be comfortable bringing a few more volunteers back on site. Here are the specific areas that we need help with for the month of June:
- Tuesdays, 1-3 pm, Help Yourself Shelf volunteer
- Wednesdays, 4:30-6:30 pm, Help Yourself Shelf volunteer
- Thursdays, 6-8 pm, Help Yourself Shelf volunteer
- Fridays, 12-2 pm, Help Yourself Shelf volunteer
- Pet food bagging Volunteers – will accommodate your schedule, provided safety protocols and social distancing measures can be followed
- General Warehouse Volunteers (sorting, shelving, weighing, etc.) – will accommodate your schedule, provided safety protocols and social distancing measures can be followed
- Community Garden Volunteers (watering, weeding, harvesting) – will accommodate your schedule, provided safety protocols and social distancing measures can be followed
- Compost Team Volunteers – to continue to improve our environmental footprint, we want to establish a team of volunteers dedicated to composting our unusable items, once or twice a week – will accommodate your schedule, provided safety protocols and social distancing measures can be followed
We are excited to be making these small steps back towards normalcy and so looking forward to seeing some more of our wonderful volunteers again!
Kind regards,
Pamela and the Okotoks Foodbank Team