Storage woes: Windsor’s miracle food drive faces a snag because of vaccine clinics

Windsor, Ont. -

Organizers of the June 27th Miracle are frantically searching for storage areas because Windsor-Essex arenas are in currently in use.

“Where else can we house all of this food for the need that is huge this year?” says Matt Hernandez, who is currently wrestling with the question with the other nine organizers.

After the success of the inaugural 2020 Miracle food drive, the donations were stored in local arenas until they could be distributed.

Donations fill an entire ice pad at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ont., on June 27, 2020. (Courtesy June 27th Miracle / Facebook)

This year, many of those same arenas, including the WFCU Centre, are now mass vaccination clinics.

“We’re asking (the public) if you have any type of storage facilities available, a 1,000 square feet or above please just reach out to us,” says Hernandez.

In addition to needing to find new spaces, they are also changing how the donations will be stored after the 2021 event.

“Last year we had more of a centralized approach to distribution,” says Hernandez. “This year, we want to have a more decentralized approach.”

It means they are looking for 50 spaces to store food for the summer or until all of the donations are given to local food banks.

The committee is also looking for help in transportation of the donations, on June 27.

“Its just going to be a lot more spread out,” he says. “So a lot more of the smaller size trucks, vans things like that will be very, very useful if we can get people to support us on that day.”

In just one week, they have already recruited 3,000 volunteers but can use all the help they can get.

Hernandez says they are able to certify volunteer hours for high school students.

To volunteer, both for the day of collection and the days after during sorting, go to june27miracle.ca.