If you are traveling around, you will find the Taber Food Bank located in Taber one hour north of the US border, three hours SE of Calgary and 40 minutes east of Lethbridge.   The main industries in this region are food processing, oil & gas well services and agricultural services.   The population exceeds 7500 and as a booming community Taber's population is projected to surpass 10,000 by 2010.   The Taber Food Bank also provides service to the Municipal District of Taber with a population of 6012.

The Taber Food Bank is a relatively new food bank as it was established 7 years ago. Sharon Gillespie the Manager of the Taber Food Bank was one of the founding members. Sharon is also extends her services as the Secretary of the Federation and various community organizations.   Sharon is assisted at the food bank with the help of 29 regular volunteers who take various days and shifts.   It should be noted that 20 of those dedicated volunteers have been there since the Taber Food Bank first opened.   The Board of Directors consists of members from 14 churches of the Taber Ministerial Association and 3 community members at large.

The Taber Food Bank is one of the few food banks in our membership to own its facilities.   The building was purchased 1 year after being opened thanks to the generosity of the community and a local business donated the walk in freezer. It should be noted this was accomplished without the aid of any grants.   The community has also been generous in the donation of a van last year.   It is used for the pick up of bread and dairy products from local stores.   A local dealership donated the van and various businesses donated labour and parts to paint it and fix it up.   

The Taber Food Bank is open Mondays to Fridays 10:00am to 3:00pm.   On Mondays there are no hampers are given out, however clients may access the self help area for bread and vegetables.   Hampers are given out Tuesdays to Thursdays 11:00am to 2:00pm and Fridays 11:00am to 1:00pm.   This past January they distributed 128 hampers.   The unpredictability of the weather and agriculture related employment and seasonal layoffs from local food processing facilities can increase this number dramatically to 250 hampers.

The Taber Food Bank and Sharon Gillespie can be contacted at 403-223-1833 and you can visit them at 5512 - 48 Ave Taber.

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