Kennebecasis Valley

The Kennebecasis Valley Food Basket has been expanded and upgraded to meet demand in the region.

And the organization got a big boost Monday as the provincial government announced a major investment in the project.

Local Government Minister and Quispamsis MLA Aaron Kennedy announced the province would invest up to $370,000 for the modernization.

“By investing in this expansion, we are helping ensure people in the Kennebecasis Valley have access to safe, reliable and respectful food services and that this organization can continue meeting growing community needs,” Kennedy said.

Food Basket board chair Brian Rignanesi said the expansion project was a big step for the organization.

“We went from about a 300-square-foot building to about an 800-square-foot building and we’re still full,” he said.

Rignanesi said usage numbers have been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were previously dealing with about 20 to 25 families a week,” he said. “Now we’re most weeks (dealing with) 40 families, some weeks 50 families.”

But no matter the numbers and even before expansion, Rignanesi said space limitations haven’t kept the Food Basket from doing good work.

“Never,” he stressed. “Anybody that’s hungry gets to eat.”