The Wood Buffalo Food Bank is starting a pilot project focused on Fort Chipewyan.

The non-profit, who is partnering with King’s Kids Promotions, is expanding their Mobile Pantry Program to the rural hamlet.

The program focuses on helping people in need across the rural communities.

Executive Director Dan Edwards tells Mix News they’ve been trying for a long time to expand the program into Fort Chipewyan.

“It has been a long standing goal to be able to service that part of our region as well, but it is an area that faces extra barriers to meet.”

Instead of having residents come to Fort McMurray, the Food Bank will now deliver hampers directly to the hamlet.

During the winter, they will be driven up, while during the warmer months they will be flown by plane.

Funds for the expansion are coming from a grant from the municipality, given to the Food Bank through the 2020 municipal budget.

They’re expecting between 20-40 families will be impacted, however, Edwards believes this number could potentially rise.

“We’ve found with anytime that we’ve gone into a rural area that we tend to see spikes of people that we didn’t have on our radar because they just weren’t reaching out because the effort for the service was too much.”

These hampers will be delivered once a month.

People can apply to receive assistance through the program by visiting the WB Food Bank’s website.