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Goldstream Food Bank moves operation outside in response to COVID-19 fears

‘We gotta keep calm and carry on,’ says president of food bank
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Goldstream Food Bank will be moving their operation outdoors to deal with the spread of COVID-19 fears. President Gayle Ireland says their stock is still high after generous donations from the community over the holidays. (Black Press Media file photo)

The Goldstream Food Bank is making a slight tweak to its operations, effective Tuesday.

Volunteers will organize hampers in the parking lot of their location at Langford Legion, in response to the spread of COVID-19 across Canada.

With seven new cases identified in the Island Health region Monday, the president of Goldstream Food Bank says it’s the best way to minimize risks of sharing the virus.

“We gotta keep calm and carry on,” said Gayle Ireland. “We don’t know where this situation is going, but we’re doing our best to support each other. We can’t take the chance to have people gathered in a small room waiting for food.”

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Ireland says regular customers who are ill or feel under the weather should remain at home and send a list with a family member or neighbour instead. Currently, the food bank doesn’t have a delivery program.

The president confirmed that they have enough stock for now, thanks to generous donations over the winter holidays. But that could potentially change with more empty grocery store shelves with shoppers stock-piling due to COVID-19 fears.

The Goldstream Food Bank will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18. The organization plans to open their doors again on the first Tuesday in April, depending on how COVID-19 will affect public gatherings.