Food Rescue Yellowknife has resumed operations just over a week after the group decided to close down.
"We're excited about it. On Monday (April 6) we'll resume deliveries. And we're picking up (food) from the stores on Thursday and Friday," Food Rescue president Lesley Allen told NNSL Media on Wednesday.
Food Rescue receives from supermarkets products that are nearing or at their best-before dates or that have defective packaging, and passes them on to non-profits that serve vulnerable members of the community.
The organization announced on March 23 that it was shutting down its operations because of safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It decided to re-open after it reviewed its procedures and found better ways to maintain social distancing and meet GNWT guidelines on pandemic precautions.
"For example our white Quonset tent only has a very small kitchen with a little walkway with storage and a garage. We had too many people in there before and we couldn't follow the guidelines.
"We're streamlining the operations. We'll have just one manager on site per day, no kitchen helpers, and one driver and one driver's helper. They'll be in their own vehicles and not driving together. There will be one delivery to each client per day. We'll have regular pickups but only one delivery," Allen explained.
They've also shifted their focus to clients who can redistribute food to their own programs, such as the Yellowknife Women's Centre, YWCA, Salvation Army, the Day Centre and Sobering Centre and Hope's Haven.
The YK Food Bank shut down its operations on March 24, which at the time left the Salvation Army as the main organization in Yellowknife providing food to members of the community.
