Lac Ste Anne East Food Bank
The Lac Ste Anne East Food Bank, located in Onoway at 5031 48 Ave, is open Wednesdays from 8-10 AM for donations and 9-10 AM for hampers.
Photo ID is required to pick up hampers.
Requests for hampers can be left by message throughout the week and the deadline is Tuesday at noon for the following Wednesday.
Contact information: (780) 271-3131 lacsteanneeastfoodbank@gmail.com
Lac Ste. Anne East Food Bank is a registered charitable society operating in the eastern part of Lac Ste Anne County. The purpose of the Food Bank is to serve as an emergency relief service for individuals/ families in need of such help.
Our boundaries extend from Hwy. 765 on the West to the Rich Valley district on the North, over to the eastern and southern boundaries of Lac Ste Anne County.
The Food Bank operates on a call-for-request, and referral system. You may call and request assistance from the Food Bank secretary, who will process your request onto a client form. This form carries basic information about your family which is kept on file and confidential. Part of your form will be the referral that is necessary for continued assistance from the Food Bank. A copy of the referral form is part of this brochure.
At the time of your first visit, you will be given this form, which you must take and have filled out by a qualified person/ agency. If you should need to use the Food Bank more than once, this form will be requested at the time of your second visit. This referral is good for the calendar year in which it was signed and up to ten regular visits plus a Christmas hamper from the Food Bank. Visits to the Food Bank are limited to one a calendar month.
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Approved Agencies
The following are approved agencies to make referrals of families in need to the Food Bank:
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Social services supervisor*
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Minister or priest from a local congregation,
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School principal/ counselor,
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Medical Doctor/ Public Health Official.
* Families who are already part of Social Assistance MUST have their referral filled out by their supervisor. First Nations families who live on the Alexis Reserve MUST have their referral submitted by Social Services from the Band office.
The Lac Ste Anne East Food Bank Society is governed by an independent, voluntary board of directors who reside in our service area, and is supported by donations from individuals, churches, corporate sponsors as well as special collections. As a registered society we can issue tax-deductible receipts for any donations.
The Lac Ste Anne East Food Bank collection and distribution point is the cream house, at 5028 – 48 Ave. just beside the Onoway Baptist Church in Onoway.
Contact information:
(780) 271-3131
History
The existence of the food bank in Onoway is something that started very small and grew into what it is today. According to the history written for the Onoway Baptist Church, there is a reference to the food bank in its earliest form. The Rev. Wenzel Hanik stated there that "The church decided to begin a food bank out of the church to help families in need" The time frame was approximately the mid 80's, meaning that our food bank has been helping people for about 40 years.
The food bank continued to operate under the Baptist Church for many years and today we are still in a close relationship with the church. In 1991 Pastor Rick Foster took over the pastoral ministry of the church and also the food bank. After 6 years of overseeing food bank activities as part of the church Pastor Rick realized the growing need was too big of a job for him to manage on his own. So, building on the community support base offered from members of several other churches, a plea was put forth for volunteers to organize the food bank and work through the process of officially becoming a society.
In September of 1998, the Lac Ste Anne East Food bank society was incorporated.
Onoway Baptist Church continued as the host site for the food bank until January of
2007. At this time the church bought the property next door, and the food bank moved to the little house located there. The food bank rented this property until July of 2024. The church also owned the property across the street and offered it to the food bank to move there. It was a much bigger building, which the food bank really needed since we were very close to bursting at the seams of the old place. On approval of both the church and food bank boards, the place was totally renovated to work for the needs of the food bank. It has definitely been a very welcomed move.
Our food bank services the eastern half of the Lac Ste Anne County, including the areas of Onoway, Darwell, Rich Valley, and Sandy Lake.
At Christmas the food bank partners with Santa's Helpers and we work together to provide abundant food and gift hampers for families who are struggling.
The food bank is supported by several community organizations, businesses, churches, and many individuals from our community, as well as the hard work of numerous volunteers. It takes an entire community for a food bank to be successful and we are hopeful that as long as there is the need we will be there to help!