On Feb. 11, 2013, Alphie Smith spoke to the Club about the Sussex Sharing Club.
The Sussex Sharing Club was incorporated on Feb. 18, 1987. They are a member of the New Brunswick Association of Food Banks and have no government funding. They have no paid employees- their organization is 100% volunteer. They have a hot meal program in the local elementary schools.
In March 2012, Sussex Sharing Club used to serve two hot meals per week, and this has grown to three. They have an orange juice program, a dog and a cat food program, and they serve 105 to 132 families/month. They are now able to hand out a basket of food that would cover a family for seven days, where before they were only able to hand out five days.
At the end of 2012, they purchased the old Easy Kleen building for a price of $220,000 and have a mortgage for 20 years. The new building is 1.20 acres – 8,250 square feet. Now with a large building, they can house more clothing and furniture. With the revenue from the clothing, they hope to cover the cost of some of the expenses.
Their goal is to have no mortgage so Sussex Sharing Club can put 100% of their funds towards food.