New, Fancier Digs For Central & North Frontenac Food Bank

The North and Central Frontenac Food Bank has been located at a number of places since it was founded over 30 years ago.

For many years, what was then known as the North Frontenac Food Bank was located in the former Anglican Church manse in Sharbot Lake, in the basement. They moved to another basement after that, at 1095 Garrett Street in the Village Courtyard complex that was then owned by the late Rosemary Bowick.

They then moved to a larger, easier to access location at the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, where they have been for a number of years. The food bank has needed more space for a while now, and more room for freezers to store meat and chicken, for quite a while.

When Community Living North Frontenac purchased the former Central Frontenac Township office earlier this year, it freed up their existing space, the former St. Lawrence College Employment Centre, for different uses. Community Living is planning to move the clothing from the Treasure Trunk into the building, but there is a very nice space where offices and a boardroom were located, that is suitable for the food bank.

Although the Board of Directors of Community Living leases the space, they are able to sublet it to the food bank at a very good price.

“We jumped at this because, although we are very appreciative of the support from the ownership team at the Country Inn, we really needed a bigger space,’ said food bank co-ordinator, Janice Anderson

The need for food bank services has been constant. Janice Anderson said that the number and the circumstances that many of the food banks clients are living in, are symptoms of a housing and employment shortage in the region.

The Central and North Frontenac Food Bank usage has increased steadily year over year since 2018, doubling over a 6-year period. In 2024, when159 households used its services. The totals are virtually the same for 2025.

“In the last year, we have seen lots of new people, but others have dropped off,’ she said. “That is likely because they have moved somewhere hoping to find work, or for some other reason. Not too many people are finding good jobs and housing and moving on from needing the food bank, in the current economy. Times are pretty grim for a lot of the people we see. I heard from three new families just this week.

In 2025, the food bank provided food for 49 new households, the same number of new households they have seen in each of the past three years. This was in addition to 120 existing households from previous years.