Inside the new Salvation Army food bank on 24th Street in Vernon (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Food Bank Remodeled

Salvation Army unveils market-style food bank in Vernon

Oct 17, 2025 | 4:40 PM

The Salvation Army has taken a unique approach to helping feed people in Greater Vernon,as the demand for supports continue to grow.

The organization unveiled its new, market-style food bank at its location at 5400 24th Street in Vernon’s north end.

The new facility also has a larger back area than the previous one, including walk-in freezers and fridges for produce and meats, and a food processing area.

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The unveiling Friday was marked with a ribbon cutting ceremony, featuring Salvation Army members and volunteers, stakeholders, and local leaders.

The Salvation Army will have “personal shopper” volunteers help people pick out what they need, be it fresh produce, meats, dairy products, non-perishables, and bread, in a more independent way. This will ensure people get the food they need and not take too much so that other users can still access items.

This model will also help cut down on waste, as people will be able to take what they need and not be given a hamper that includes foods they can’t or won’t eat.

The new food bank came online as the demand for more support continues to increase.

“In the last year, we’ve probably seen perhaps a 15 to 20 per cent increase [in users], but since COVID we probably have close to triple the amount of demand, because that’s when inflation started going really crazy,” Paul Bielby, Community Ministries Director with Salvation Army Vernon, stated.

“So, in the last year there hasn’t been a huge bump, but we really saw the bump since COVID started, and we do anticipate that it’s only going to increase, unfortunately.”

The demographics of those who have been accessing food banks has also broadened in recent years.

“Historically, before COVID, the people who were going to the food bank, and not just in Vernon, they were usually unemployed, underemployed, on disability, on welfare, or a single low income person” Bielby said.

“Now we have families that are dual income [accessing the food bank]. They may not be high dual income, they’re low dual income. Five or 10 years ago, if you were dual income, even if it was low income, you could get by. You can’t anymore. So it’s really challenging when it’s the working class coming in here.”

Data shared from the Salvation Army also stated that one in 13 children in the North Okanagan depended on food bank service within the last year, and that 30 per cent of people who seek food banks support locally are seniors on fixed incomes.

The food bank will also have case workers on site to help connect users with supports and services.

The food bank is part of the local Food Mesh Network and stocked by donations from local grocery stores, agricultural partners, and community donations, and the Salvation Army is now able to collect more of those contributions thanks to having more space in the warehouse area.

“We just finished out big annual food drive, 37,000 lbs. of food was brought to us here,” Bielby said.

“Before we had these facilities, all that food would be having to go into sea containers, and [volunteers] would be sorting that food in a parking lot and trying to organize them in sea containers and then drive back and forth. Now, we’re able to bring it all here, sort it quickly and efficiently, have it all in one spot. It’s a seismic shift forward for us in terms of being a professional food bank that can not only better serve our clients but can also make it a lot nicer for all of our volunteers.”

The new food bank was built at a cost of $1.8-million, though the Salvation Army still owed about $300,000 of that total and was continuing its fundraising efforts to pay off that debt.

The new food bank has taken over the site where the Salvation Army Thrift Store used to be located. That store has since moved to the shopping centre on 43rd Avenue across from W.L Seaton Secondary.