The shelves are just about bare at Wadena Food Bank.

The food bank committee hoped to change that with a grand opening barbecue and food drive Tuesday.

“We are at a low point again so we will be hoping to have a great turnout and have lots of donations today,” Michelle Vandenbossch said.

The food bank needs soup, beans, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and tins of meat. Donations can be dropped off at the Wadena Co-Op.

They’ve recently moved into their new building on 1st Street NE, which gives them more room than their previous homes in the local Roman Catholic Church basement and a building owned by Water World Industries.

The new building was bought by former Wadena pharmacists Greg and Yvonne Linden for the food bank to use. They wanted to give back to the community they’ve lived in since 1994, Yvonne said.

It’s heartbreaking that there’s a need for a food bank - but she feels proud of the work volunteers who run it, and the people who give back to those who have less than them, she said.

“It’s a good thing.”

The food bank is meant to help people through a crisis such as job loss or illness - unfortunately, some families are always in a crisis, Vandenbossch said.

Two hundred and thirty-seven families have used the food bank at some point, she said. Their area stretches to the halfway points to the next food banks in Humboldt, Kenora, Wynyard and Melfort.

“There is a huge need and it is surprising that there are homeless people in these communities - you just don’t realize it.”

Families may access the food bank 10 times per year. A single person receives one box of pasta, a tin of meat, a can of vegetables, a can of fruit, a can of pork and beans, a can of tomatoes, a can of soup, a dozen eggs, a two-litre jug of milk, two cups of flour and two cups of sugar.

A family can also pick out a couple extra items, if the food bank has any.

“The families we’re serving, they don't get, perhaps, a birthday cake or cookies. They’re living on a tight budget.”