The Cochrane Food Bank has received accreditation from Food Banks Canada.
Manager Ardis Proulx says it’s the first time in the Cochrane facility’s 30-year history that it applied.
“We had to go through the process of proving that we were doing everything to the standards of Food Banks Canada,” she outlines. “It means food safety, food handling, policies, procedures, all that fun logistic paperwork that nobody likes to do.”
The process took about a year. Accreditation allows the Cochrane Food Bank to apply for grants from the national organization to help its operation in a number of ways.
Now every two years, the food bank will undergo a review. Proulx says it’s a lot simpler than the initial application, and points out any rules or guidelines that might have changed. For example, Food Banks Canada is now looking into allowing the distribution of wild game meat.
“If the law around that changes, then we have to have a policy and procedure. Then we have a little bit of paperwork to do. But otherwise, it’s just a real quick review that we’re still following everything that we’re supposed to be, and we’re accredited again for another two years.”
The initial process included a lot of communication with Food Banks Canada, and visits to Cochrane by some of its officials.
Here is our complete interview with Proulx:
