The current inadequate Lake Country Food Bank location in the former Winfield Elementary School.
Image Credit: Contributed
September 30, 2014 - 7:27 AM
LAKE COUNTRY – The Lake Country Food Bank needs a new home and to raise the money, the project has been entered in a national charity contest.
Voting began Monday as charities and not-for-profits compete for a piece of the $1-million on offer from the Aviva Community Fund.
The insurance company will award cash prizes to organizations which have the support of their communities as measured by clicks at the contest website. There is also a complex judging process once the groups make it to the finals.
Currently, the Food Bank is in the back of the old Winfield Elementary School building. The space is inadequate, according to the Lake Country Food Assistance Society’s submission on the contest website.
Over 600 people rely on the Food Bank each month. That works out to about 6 per cent of the population. The need is expected to grow as the community grows.
The District has donated land for the new building, and over $500,000 worth of cash and in-kind donations are already accounted for. The Society needs another $200,000 to get shovels in the ground.
The New Food Bank Project will get $5,000 if the entry makes it to the finals and then judges could reward them between $50,000 to $100,000.
Voting began Monday on the Aviva Community Fund website. You can vote up to 15 times during each qualifying round, but you can only vote once per day, according to the rules posted on the site.
The contest runs until Oct. 13 after which the winners will be announced and the money will begin to flow.
An artist's rendition of the proposed Lake Country Food Bank building.
Image Credit: Contributed
To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014