Warehouse Rescue diverts commercial items from landfill

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This article was published 03/09/2022 (1266 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Brandon’s Food Rescue Store is sent items that would otherwise be thrown out, sometimes there are items that don’t always fit its vision of selling discounted grocery items to residents.

Take, for instance, a load of sanitizing wipes received last year that John Howard Society of Brandon executive director Ross Robinson said are still lingering at the Rosser Avenue location.

That’s why the society has started a new operation out of the same location with a similar but nonetheless distinct purpose — to divert commercial, household and food in larger quantities than the Food Rescue Store can handle from the landfill.

Proceeds from the sales are put back into the operation to cover staff wages, pay rent, and to keep the project alive.

Since late July, Warehouse Rescue has offered items received from Winnipeg distribution centres such as soap, face masks, hand sanitizer, chopsticks, knives and even peppermint syrup to interested parties.

“Just like on the food side, distributors don’t like throwing stuff out,” Robinson said. “They don’t like throwing out perfectly good, still-wrapped stuff. It hurts them as much as the food does. We didn’t ask for this, it just started arriving on our trucks with our food.”

Though both organizations are under the umbrella of the John Howard Society, they are being handled separately — Food Rescue staff can’t help with Warehouse Rescue requests and vice-versa.

Unlike the Food Rescue Store, customers can’t just walk in and browse the selection during set hours.

The operation is handled by Elizabeth Morrow, who advertises the items received by the store on social media and arranges in advance for interested parties to pick them up at the building (719 Rosser Ave.), usually on Mondays.

“A lot of it is commercial items, but then you also have things like lids for containers but no containers, or containers without lids, plastic cutlery, hand sanitizer, soap,” Morrow said. “It’s a whole mash of things.”

So far, Morrow said it’s been small and independent businesses that have benefitted from the store’s services.

“My biggest hope is to continue to get product that’s going to be thrown out and get it to someone who’s going to be able to use it,” she said.

The best way to see what Warehouse Rescue has to offer is to either follow its Facebook page or sign up for an email list Morrow curates that provides weekly updates about what’s in stock.

To arrange to purchase something, Morrow said customers can send her a message through the Facebook page or call her at 431-541-4321.

Robinson also had a piece of news that will end up benefitting both operations.

He said the John Howard Society received federal funding through the Reaching Home program that the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation administers locally. The money will be used to set up a storage area comprised of several shipping containers on the grounds of Transolution Truck Centres on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Once ready, that will allow both operations to store goods in two climate-controlled containers and another for dry goods. It will also give Morrow a place to work so that both stores don’t have to share the same building.

Through Robinson’s interactions with customers, it’s been clear that the Food Rescue Store is making a difference in their lives.

At this point, Robinson said he’s confident the store can sustain its operations without needing external funding, though donations of food and money are accepted.

During the Sun’s interview with Morrow and Robinson Friday, several customers had already lined up outside the Food Rescue Store more than half an hour before its scheduled opening time.

The day’s offerings included a table full of fresh vegetables donated by a local Hutterite colony.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

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