By Kellah Lavoie

Donation gets food bank expansion on track

Dec 18, 2010 | 1:51 PM

It is a hefty donation for the Prince Albert Share-A-Meal/Food Bank.

Today Cameco officially handed over $10,000 for the expansion.

“Most of our employees work in the north, our operations are in Northern Saskatchewan, and it’s a good fit for us. It’s a needy cause,” said Karen Lendzyk, communications and corporate relations coordinator for Cameco.

“They’re trying to expand we thought it was a good thing to do.”

Ron Bergen, food bank president, couldn’t be happier. It is the biggest donation they have received yet towards their capital project.

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“This is a way of sort of kicking it off to the community. We will be approaching businesses all throughout the winter now, trying to get more money to help our situation here and get the building put up,” he said.

“We will be looking for trades and businesses for work in-kind and product in-kind that will help do it up too.”

Bergen said in Prince Albert, where there is one donation, there are several more not too far behind.

He has already been talking with the Northern Lights Development Corporation and Campbell’s Canada – he is expecting to hear back from Campbell’s on a donation of more than $20,000 for new kitchen equipment any time now.

“We’re the only facility, food bank, in Saskatchewan that serves meals besides being a food bank… it’s a bigger job for us because we’re combined,” he said.

“We’re not asking for a lot, it’s not like we’re going around asking for $200,000 or $300,000 we’re keeping the amounts down to keep more people contributing and hopefully that way more people will give.”

The original budget for the project was $130,000. The roof is already finished after they had some issues with it leaking earlier this year. He said if the Campbell’s money doesn’t come through they will forgo the kitchen upgrades.

It leaves about $70,000 to still be covered – after today that number dropped to $60,000.

Bergen said he hopes to start work on the expansion in the spring.

klavoie@panow.com