Open Arms Mission's newest addition to its food bank sat cold and empty Saturday morning during a dedication ceremony.

But there was excitement surrounding the new, large walk-in freezer at the mission's Forks Road ministry campus as local politicians, mission board members and community members gathered around it.

Donor relations manager Leslie Bellingham said the empty shelves in the cold freezer will soon be filled with fresh and frozen food to serve its food bank on Fifth Street.

"We're really excited about this because it allows us to have more perishable items, which we know are much healthier for our food bank clients," said Bellingham

"A local farmer has donated a cow to us and Highland Packers is going to process it for us and give us ground beef."

The food bank serves between 550 and 650 people a month in Welland and is open Tuesday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Open Arms also offers several programs including a weekly drop-in centre and hot lunches every Saturday at noon.

Bellingham said previously it was complicated for the Christian organization to accept large donations of things like fresh chickens because trying to store them proved to be a challenge.

"Now we can have a better partnership with food producers and manufacturers. If someone wants to donate a palette of fresh chicken we can take it now, we have somewhere to put it. We can offer our clients better quality food."

She said cash donated for food items can now be used for fresh food instead of just non-perishable items, collected throughout the year and through a large food drive in November.

And as the number of users of the food bank rises, whether through more need or increased awareness, the freezer gives the Welland-based agency the capacity to store more.

The freezer is about seven metres long, five metres wide and seven metres tall.

"There were some many community partners that made this possible. The freezer panels were donated, the work to put them in place . so many different trades," said Bellingham.

For more information on Open Arms Mission or to donate call 905-788-3800 or visit www.openarmsmissionwelland.com.

Nathaniel.Johnson@niagaradailies.com

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