Broken forklift could impact Windsor food, clothing bank's ability to get supplies to those in need

The executive director of one of Windsor's largest donation centres worries that it will take longer to get food and clothing to those most in need if the organization's broken forklift doesn't get fixed in the next few weeks.

Registered charity, Windsor Lifeline Outreach (WLO), relies on aforklift to move heavy skids of food and clothing around its facility. The forklift also unloads donations from WLO's transport truck.

But about a week and a half ago, executive director Jeremiah Bettanysays, the forklift stopped working.

"We have a large truck that will go pick up produce, supplies, bring it back to the warehouse and distribute it to the other food banks," he said.

"So the forklift that offloads the truck is crucial to us, we absolutely need it and unfortunately, right now, it's down."

For more than 20 years, WLO has been receiving donations and handing them out to the community's most vulnerable.

But without the forklift, they can't access canned food and clothing that has been stored high up on shelves in their facility, nor can they easily move the materials around to get sorted or load skids onto the truck to make deliveries to otherfood banks and shelters that they support.

"We got a skid of canned goods the other daythat was donated to us, and that's thousands of pounds. If we did not have the forklift, we'd literally have to take can by can down and create a chain to put it on our shelves, sort it and bring it back out to another facility," Bettany said.

And he worries this slow down will impact the people who rely on their food bank and others in the city.

Right now, Bettany says they provide food to about 100 and 150 people each day.

The number of people in Ontario relying on food banks has significantly grown over the years.

A recent hunger report from Feed Ontario, a network of food banksacross the province, found that one in 19 Ontariansrely on food banks to put meals on the table.

Repairs will cost thousands

A mechanic has checked out the forklift and says it needs a new battery, as well as two new drive motors, according to Bettany. He says he was told repairs can cost anywhere from$14,000 to $20,000.

And for a charity that runs on donations, Bettany says they just don't have enough to support that cost.

"Unfortunately right now, we simply don't have the finances," he said, adding that they're asking the community to help them get an electric forklift or raise money for the repairs.

"It's pretty dire. If we don't get this resolved relatively soon, you're going to see a trickle-down effect."