Rendered inaccessible by the blizzard that took place over the weekend, the Saskatoon Food Bank was unable to provide for those who rely on it on both Monday and Tuesday.

Laurie O’Connor, the food bank’s Executive Director, says the amount of snow that fell in Saskatoon prevented staff from accessing the building. She adds that food bank users also would have found it hard to navigate their way to the food bank, as many of them travel there on foot, and are often pushing a stroller or wagon.

“Imagine if you were home and needed food on Monday and learned that the food bank was closed because we couldn’t get here. We know that this storm was very impactful on those using our services,” O’Connor admits. “The rest of the week will be incredibly busy for us. I think people are here working time and time and time again to make sure we can get as much food out as possible for folks.”

To recognize the food bank’s efforts and assist it with its food security initiatives, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and Dakota Dunes Casino presented them with a $25,000 cheque on Wednesday. The money comes from SIGA’s Community Investment Fund, which was increased to $1.89 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year, compared with $1.3 million in 2022.

Charles Ryder, Dakota Dunes Casino General Manager, says, as part of the Community Investment Fund, more than $225,000 is going towards food security initiatives across the province.

“With the price of groceries going up, the cost of living, inflation, and other matters that bring challenges for families, we thought this was a good idea…to do this….and support the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre,” Ryder stated.

O’Connor says the money will go directly towards purchasing food for hampers to serve the people of Saskatoon, 23,000 of which they see every month.

Heavy usage in recent years prompted the Saskatoon Food Bank to launch a capital campaign in 2023, that would raise money with an aim to help them relocate to a larger facility.

O’Connor says not even one year later, the campaign is doing very well.

“We’re probably hitting the last little bit of that campaign. We’re up close to $11 million in funds raised already, and we sure hope to talk about that a little more later on next month.

The campaign, titled Plant Possibilities, had a goal of reaching $12 million. In October of last year, she anticipated a shovel in the ground by spring of 2024, with doors opening by fall of 2025.