Victoria Mustard Seed partially reopening after fire

The Victoria Mustard Seed is partially reopening after a fire caused significant damage and forced the food bank to throw away supplies last month.

The fire occurred on March 27, and while actual fire damage was limited to one entrance of the building, smoke damage spread to other portions of the Mustard Seed and made food and clothing donations unusable.

"We're devastated," said Treska Watson, director of operations at the Mustard Seed, at the time. "It's really sad. We serve vulnerable communities."

Because the building could not be occupied over the past month, the Mustard Seed has been operating out of its parking lot.

On Wednesday, the food bank announced that it would be opening a portion of its building after getting the "all clear" to reoccupy it from officials.

"We are so excited to bring our staff back inside, and begin normal food bank operations on Wednesday, May 3," said Watson in a statement.

"Our team has been amazingly resilient – providing services from the parking lot this last month, while our contractors remediated the building to make it safe for us to store and distribute food again," she said.

The Mustard Seed says its hospitality centre and chapel area will remain closed since damage was more extensive in these parts of the building.

The food bank says there is a silver lining, however. The organization will adjust several walls in this area to make room for showers and laundry equipment.

"The installation of these facilities will provide dignity and help individuals recover and reconnect with friends and family," said Rev. Stephen Bell, executive director of the Mustard Seed.

Meanwhile, the Mustard Seed will resume providing hot drinks and meals six days a week starting on May 6.

The Mustard Seed says it's grateful to everyone who has supported the food bank during the past month, as well as firefighters who volunteered to remove soot from the highest portiosn of its warehouse, as well as local churches that donated meals and space to hold Sunday services.

"The people we serve – who are not limited to our street community, but are also immigrants, families, students and anyone else whose current situation leaves them stretched – are grateful," said the Mustard Seed.

"And that gratitude by extension goes towards all those who have stepped up during this challenging time."

Since the organization still doesn't have access to its full building, it cannot accept in-person donations at this time. The Mustard Seed encourages people to donate on its website "where our wholesale buying power goes much further."

"We are so grateful to the generosity of people in the greater Victoria region and the support we are receiving to help us to build back better and provide food for families and the basic human need of cleanliness," said Bell.