Residents and businesses in West Nipissing have come through for the West Nipissing Food Bank.
On Friday, they helped raise $8,370 through the Moose 99.3 annual radiothon.
This year’s radiothon was dedicated to the food bank’s drive to raise a walk-in fridge that allows it to store perishable foods.
Foodbank chairman Ken Perrin said going into the radiothon, the agency would need about $8,000 to $10,000 to acquire the cooler.
With the money in place, the next step is to go shopping for a cooler.
That’s where Bill Gingras enters the picture.
Gingras does refrigeration work and not only will he help the food bank buy a cooler, but he is also donating the installation cost.
Gingras says the key for the food bank is to buy a cooler that meets its needs for the long term.
“I hope they get one that’s large enough for them to grow into,” Gingras said.
That’s because the danger in going too small (means) having to put in a second (cooler), Gingras said.
Gingras says the cooler will let the food bank plan further into the future because it will have the ability to keep perishable foods.
He says once it’s in place, the food bank will be able to handle cold calls of someone saying they have frozen food to donate.
“The food bank is one of the most important endeavours in the community and helps a lot of people,” Gingras said.
In addition to the nearly $8,400 that was raised, the radiothon also saw people bring in 87 pounds of food.
The money and food will be added to the food bank’s most recent donation.
That was from the students at White Woods Public School who collected money and food for the agency during the Parade of Lights.
Ken Perrin visited the school several days ago where teacher Erin Graham-Mitchell presented him with a cheque totalling more than $600.