Bayfield food bank desperately needs new home following municipal building sale

Bayfield’s food bank is seeking a new home after the municipally owned building was sold. CTV London’s Scott Miller with the details.

The good news is that Bayfield is getting a new medical clinic. The bad news, it’s coming at the expense of the town’s food bank.

“We’ve been told by the municipality that this building has been sold, and we need to be out by April 4. We still don’t have a space to go to,” said Bayfield Area Food Bank President Claire Trepanier.

Bayfield’s Lion’s Community Building has been sold to a Seaforth doctor for $700,000. It’s going to be turned into a medical clinic. But it means Bayfield’s food bank, which just moved into the building last March, must move again.

Efforts to relocate the food bank, which has seen use jump from 66 clients a month last year to 110 per month this year, have so far not proven fruitful. Local churches, private buildings, even the community centre are either unavailable or can’t be ready in time for April 4.

“I’ll be honest, we’ve exhausted a lot of the options that are out there. So, you know, the next step will be to work with them on the remaining potential options that we’re exploring and sitting down with them. And there’s going to have to be quite honestly, there’s going to have to be some give on both sides,” said Bayfield Coun. Bill Whetstone.

The food bank organizers and many community members are urging the Municipality of Bluewater to use some of $700,000 building sale proceeds, to help find the food bank a new home.

“They sold the water tower in Hensall, and they saved the assets for the construction of a community center in Hensall. They sold the old community center in Zurich and held the assets to build a new community center in Zurich. And here they’re saying to us, ‘Well, why should we give money to you?’ I mean, why wouldn’t you? You made the others whole, how are we not like the others?” questioned Bayfield Area Food Bank volunteer Catherine Tillmann.

Whetstone said how best to divvy up the Lion’s building proceeds will likely be discussed at Bluewater’s next council meeting, but in the interim, it’s likely a temporary home, something like a trailer on municipal property, will have to be found for Bayfield’s Food Bank before a permanent location is decided upon.

“It’s not going to be perfect. It’s not going to be exactly what it was before. But again, it’s back to making sure that the people who need the food get it into their hands. And that’s what that’s what we need to be focusing on,” said Whetstone.

“All we’re asking is that they treat us as they have other settlement needs, and maybe, possibly with the encouragement of the public, they can see their way clear to helping us,” said Tillmann.

Representatives from the food bank are now sitting on a municipal committee to figure out next steps for their organization.