Rush to save food after fire at Cambridge Food Bank

A fire at the Cambridge Food Bank Monday night led to a scramble to save fresh and frozen food.

Emergency crews responded to the Ainslie Street building around 8:30 p.m. after a neighbour spotted flames and called 911.

Waterloo regional police charged one person with arson and are still looking for another.

“A couple of folks had deliberately set fire to the units that power our walk-in coolers and freezers,” Cambridge Food Bank Executive Director Dianne McLeod explained Tuesday.

Police identified around $5,000 worth of damage outside the building.

Inside, the fridge and freezer were also impacted and staff rushed to remove thousands of dollars worth of food. While some did have to be thrown away, their efforts ensured it didn't all end up in the landfill.

“I've been here since very, very early, and I was moving all of our perishables out of the damaged units. We have a number of smaller fridges and freezers in the building,” McLeod said. “So I was filling those up as fast as I could. And then we were also able to call some of our community partners who took large volumes of meat and things like that.”

The freezer was quickly repaired, but the food bank’s new walk-in fridge now needs its condenser unit replaced.

The shelves are bare inside one of the food bank's fridges on April 9, 2024. (Krista Simpson/CTV Kitchener)

Staff are hoping to have the repairs completed in around a week. For now, they’re unable to accept donations of perishable foods, but the food bank remains open. While they may be low on some products, McLeod emphasized there is still lots of food for those who need it.

'We’ll forgive you'

Not long after the fire, police made an arrest.

“Shortly after the incident, police located a 30-year-old Cambridge male and arrested him for arson,” Const. Chris Iden said. “The male is scheduled to appear in court in May.”

McLeod said she’s seen security camera footage of what happened.

“To me, it looked like it was a couple of people who were struggling with things in life. And I don't know who they are and I don't know their details, but I just have a feeling that maybe they're in a lot of pain right now.”

She’s ready to forgive the people responsible.

“I truly hope that they'll come and talk to me and say, you know what, I did this. I messed up and, you know, we'll forgive you,” she said.