Three big reasons it's time to go

It’s been a long time coming, but moving day is almost here! Soon we bid adieu to 213 Bedford Highway and cross the harbour to 67 Wright Avenue in Burnside. The boxes are packed and it’s time to open a new chapter in our organization’s history.

Here are three reasons we’re making a move:

1. To have more space.
Our home on the Bedford Highway has served us well for 19 years, but the amount of food we distribute annually has doubled from one million to two million kilograms. And the percentage of perishable food like fruit, vegetables, meat, and dairy we’re shipping out continues to grow. Our significantly bigger warehouse and walk-in fridge and freezer in Burnside will make a world of difference.

It’s not just about more space for food; it’s about having the right space to get the job done. We have five trucks, and each day they get loaded with food (without a loading dock), hit the road for delivery, and then return to offload more donations. All this action takes place in a very snug spot. Sometimes snug can be cozy, but when you’re distributing 8,000 kg of food a day, it’s not practical. Hats off to our operations crew, who perform a highly-choreographed dance each day to get it done. (They’re really excited to move.)

2. To be under one roof.

Over the last decade, we’ve often had to lease and borrow warehouse space to augment our own facility. This means extra time, money, and frequent transfers of food between locations. In fact, the same food is often handled up to eight times. Our new home in Burnside has the right combination of warehouse and office space to house our food donations, staff, and volunteers—all under one roof.

3. To better support Nova Scotians.

Part of creating food security is ensuring people have access to safe, nutritious food at all times, and what could be more important than that?

Last year, a local farmer offered us 11 pallets of fresh corn. We had to turn it down because we simply didn’t have the fridge space to handle it. Nova Scotians struggling to put food on the table can’t afford our missed opportunities. Our move means we’ll no longer have to reconcile capacity with people going without food. This is huge.

When our doors open at 67 Wright Avenue, we’ll be ready to better support Nova Scotians—more efficiently and effectively.

To facilitate the move, we’ll be closed on Friday, April 27 and Monday, April 30. We will open at 67 Wright Avenue on Tuesday, May 1.