Newark Neighbours preparing for holiday weekend and beyond

Last Saturday, a food drive in Virgil was collecting items to help fill Easter dinner baskets for Newark Neighbours.

The local Jeep Club puts on a food drive several times a year, and they were pleased with the response they were getting at Phil’s Your Independent Grocer, having given out a list of items that were most needed and appreciated, including Easter treats for kids.

Newark Neighbours’ Cindy Grant said the food bank volunteers are very grateful for the load of food dropped off Saturday afternoon.

By Tuesday, they were busy beginning to put boxes of food together to be delivered Thursday, just in time for Easter. And despite the huge amount of food collected at Christmas and donated by Avery London, a young boy who asked on TikTok for food for Newark Neighbours instead of gifts on his 10th birthday, the food bank’s shelves will be depleted once the Easter boxes are filled, says Grant.

Another food drive coming up this Saturday, organized by Dorothy Wiens of the Niagara Lions Club, will be held at both Your Independent Grocers, and will be perfect timing to replenish what are sure to be empty shelves, Grant says.

In addition to special holiday meals, Newark volunteers hand out food to about 150 individuals every two weeks. “It disappears quickly,” says Grant, “so whatever is collected on Saturday will be great to help us stock up again for the next couple of months.”

For those who drive by Newark Neighbours’ new location in Virgil and wonder when they’ll see some action, the answer is soon.

“We have the design finished, and we’re really pleased with it,” Grant says. “We’ve spent the last couple of weeks looking for a contractor and we’ve made a decision on that as well. We’re hoping to meet and sign a contract Thursday.”

Grant is expecting construction to start right away, and take about six to eight weeks.

The work that needs to be done isn’t complicated — drywalling, painting, along with some electrical and millwork, with a nice front desk. The biggest job will be flooring, she says.

“And then we have to purchase racks and shelving, and a new fridge and freezer.”

The Newark board has been putting money away for the last 30 years to address this eventuality, Grant says. “We have known we’d have to leave this location at some point. We’ve been very cautious and conservative with our thrift shop revenue and donations so we do have a bit of a nest egg, and this is what it’s for.”

They also have a budget of everything this move will cost, for the one-time capital costs, the transition, “and all the bits and pieces we might need,” says Grant.

They expect to do some target fundraising in the community as well, going out to individuals and organizations to ask for help funding this big and very necessary expansion.

If all goes as planned, says Grant, we should see that big banner across the former Lincoln Interiors store in Virgil come down in June, and the doors to a much larger and better planned space at the new Newark Neighbours location open and ready for volunteers to get to the business of helping those in need.