Evergreen Line construction is forcing Share Family and Community Services to search for a new storage facility for its excess toys and food items.
The community group has used Andres Winery on Vintner Street in Port Moody since 2007 but Martin Wyant, chief executive officer with Share, said the group must vacate by the end of June.
The property sits along the route for the new SkyTrain line and work is expected to ramp up on the project in the coming months, prompting the facility to shut its doors.
But with Share's budgetary restraints, Wyant said finding a new location could be difficult.
"We are looking for space that is extremely affordable," he said. "We don't want to have to spend money on things other than food and basic staffing to make the thing work. It has made finding [a new facility] a little bit challenging."
Share is looking for approximately 35,000 sq. ft. that is used to varying degrees throughout the year for a variety of different functions.
Space issues are particularly constraining during the holiday season.
Last year Share received more than 1,600 toy donations and prepared 1,400 Christmas hampers, with most of the items being collected and sorted at Andres Winery.
While keeping everything under one roof would be ideal, Wyant said the organization is open to suggestions when it comes to how to deal with its storage needs.
"We want to get a full picture of what might be out there," he said. "We can be as creative as possible. There may be some groups that are busy in parts of the year and at other times they have excess space that we can get creative with."
Anyone who knows of a suitable space that could be available is asked to email Martin Wyant at [email protected] or call 604-529-5126.
WHAT IS NEEDED
Food Bank: a minimum of 5,000 sq. ft. that does not go below freezing or much above the outside temperature on warm days. The space will be accessed weekly all year round.
Christmas Hamper Program: Between Nov. 1 and Feb. 15 SHARE needs 15,000 sq. ft. accessible to trucks to sort and store the food for Christmas Hampers and, 10,000 square feet for hamper packing. Heat, lights and access to a washroom is required and the facility must be heated.
Toy Shop: Between Nov. 1 and Feb. 15 SHARE needs 10,000 sq. ft. of heated space with a functioning bathroom to receive toy donations, sort and distribute. Ideally, SHARE would also distribute toys from this location. The Toy Shop also needs year round storage of about 3,000 sq. ft. but is not actively accessed between Feb. 15 and Oct. 31.
