The Moose Jaw and District Food Bank are holding one last capital campaign looking to raise money to build an addition for the lobby in their newly purchased building.

Looking to raise $147,000, Development Manager Jason Moore says despite the campaign only kicking off recently, they've already received a lot of donations.

Courtesy of the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank on Facebook

"We launched the campaign on the first of April with a mail-out and in just one short week, we raised over $12,000 from the public, and the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Club stepped up and donated an additional $10,000. So, after one week, we're sitting at $22,000."

This is the second time the Food Bank has received a helping hand from the Kinsmen Club, with the club raising 4,677 lbs. of food for the Food Bank during their Santa Claus parades last winter.

The campaign will be running until the end of June, which is the same month the Food Bank hopes to move operations into their new facility.

"We're hoping to move on June 1, even if work on the addition isn't done. The moving day is something we have started planning and we already have a long list of volunteers who have decided to come down and help us pack everything up and get it moved over. It is going to take a few days to do it though, and we're hoping to have minimal disruption to our services. There may be a couple of days though that we have to close down in order to get everything switched over and running properly."

The need for a bigger, better lobby can't be understated either. Last winter, due to social-distancing guidelines, the Food Bank had to resort to serving customers outside in sub-zero temperatures.

The new building located at 270 Fairford St. W., kitty-corner to the current Food Bank, has had work being completed on it since it was initially purchased at the beginning of March.

"I would love to once again thank Moose Jaw for all their support," says Moore, "And a huge thank you to the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Club. That group has been just wonderful, they've supported us over the years and did with the Santa Claus parade and now this. We have to thank them and the rest of Moose Jaw who had been behind us, supporting us, and helping us reach our goal and get moved into our forever home."

To donate, you can visit mjfoodbank.org, or you can mail a cheque to 305 Fairford St. W.