Parker Street Food & Furniture Bank is in desperate need of a new refrigerated delivery truck to help haul mass amounts of food to and from our location on 2415 Maynard Street. Our 2005 model 3-tonne delivery truck has served us well for the past 15 years, but recent signs of wear and tear and a constantly increasing list of safety issues – culminating in nonfunctioning brakes – have led us to retire the refrigerated truck for good. It no longer serves Parker Street a purpose to invest significant maintenance funds into a deteriorating vehicle. We have been working hard to find temporary solutions to how we operate our food pick-ups and deliveries until we get a new truck. These include looking at leasing a used truck or using our small cube van. It is our hope to raise another $70,000 through the New Truck Fund by the end of May 2022 to finalize the purchase of a new vehicle.
Parker Street Food & Furniture Bank started the New Truck Fund campaign in early 2021 with hopes to raise a total of $176,000 to purchase a new refrigerated delivery truck by May 2022. At the end of last year, we managed to raise $100,000 of that total goal. We are now only $70,000 away from our milestone and a new vehicle that can help us serve our community more efficiently.
With the needs of our community growing at a rapid pace due to increases in the cost of living, Parker Street has seen an influx of new and returning clients. In order to provide adequate help to those seeking food assistance, Parker Street needs a vehicle that can handle pick-ups and deliveries of mass amounts of food donations from key donors and business partners.
A new refrigerated truck will help Parker Street Food & Furniture Bank provide more food insecure families and individuals across the Halifax Regional Municipality with healthy, fresh food items. The new delivery vehicle would also:
- Maximize our capacity to accept donations of frozen food items, such as frozen meat, and fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables
- Enable us to continue working with the community in our collective and ambitious goal to end hunger in the city of Halifax
- Help us meet the needs of those who are struggling as a result of the combined impact of rising food prices, high housing costs and low- and fixed-incomes, etc.
Our delivery vehicles are on the road 7 days a week, either picking up donated and/or purchased food items or delivering food and other needed essential household items to those who need help the most. A new refrigerated truck is going to be visible and tangible proof of our community’s collective commitment to achieving food security in the Halifax Regional Municipality and bringing an end to hunger in this part of our province.