How do I get help from the food bank?
A: If you need short term assistance to access additional food during a difficult time you must come into the food bank and speak to a volunteer working at our client services desk. Please bring proof of address in the Nicola Valley, proof of income, and ID for each family member that you want to have on your file. Our ID of choice is a medical card. Families sharing custody of minors can only access food for these children through one application. Priority will be given to the address where the child spends the most time.
How often can I get your help?
A: If you are a registered client and you need our assistance with a supplemental food hamper, that hamper can be accessed once every 4 weeks. During the alternate weeks, if you are having additional concerns on where to access food, we may also be able help with a much smaller assistance package consisting of a choice of eggs, wieners, or bread and any additional perishable items depending on donations coming in. The food bank can only be accessed once per week for any level of assistance and when selecting additional items we ask that you keep in mind that we help many households so sharing is of paramount importance. Many items are limited to one only no matter of the size of your household.
What are your hours?
A: The food bank is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10am to 1:00pm.
I can't make your business hours, is there anywhere else we can make a donation?
A: Donations of non perishable food items are accepted at the drop box located at the main doors of Save On or Extra Foods.
What sort of items do you accept for donation?
A: We accept donations of all fresh fruit and vegetables, commercially prepared non perishable food items unless they are more that one year past their "best before dates", or damaged to a point of being unsafe to consume and meat provided it was processed an a provincially inspected facility. Additionally we accept personal hygiene items, baby and infant needs, as well as financial donations. Sorry but for health reasons we can not accept home made food items that were not prepared in a commercial kitchen. Additionally we accept cold weather clothing and items suitable for the Christmas Hamper Programs while those programs are running. Small amounts of household and clothing items may be accepted but will be donated out to other organizations if space is limited.
I want to volunteer, how can I do that?
A: If you are interested in volunteering for our society you must attend the office during business hours and fill out a volunteer application. We ask that once you have been notified that you have been accepted as a volunteer that you follow our basic guidelines. These include: You must wash your hands at the beginning of each shift as well as frequently during that shift, you must be clean and wear clean clothing during your shift, you must show up for any shifts that you have signed up for, you are expected to complete the tasks identified providing that you are physically capable, we ask that you do not bring friends, family members, or children to work unless previously cleared by the manager, you must leave your cellular phone with your belongings while on duty.
My budget doesn't work, where am I going wrong?
A: With the increases in costs these days many households are having more difficulty making ends meet. The Nicola Valley Food Bank is here to help but we all have to make sure we are doing what we can for ourselves as well. Each household can be unique but here is a budgeting tool that we have developed to help you see where the problems may be hiding.