A food bank in Cambridge, Ont., will remain open in a limited capacity after police say it was set on fire on Monday night.
Waterloo regional police say emergency services were called to the Cambridge Food Bank at Ainslee and Bruce streets at around 8:30 p.m. after the fire was reported.
They say officers discovered that the fire was set deliberately and put the damage estimate at around $5,000.
A spokesperson for the food bank told Global News that one of their walk-in coolers was damaged as a result.
“We were able to save most of our frozen food by distributing it to meal programs across Cambridge before it thawed. We did lose some product but the majority will be put to good use by our partners,” said Dianne McLeod, the Cambridge Food Bank’s executive director.
“Our freezer was fixed about an hour ago and we expect we will be working on replenishing our frozen food over the next few days.”
She said the mechanicals from a newly purchased walk-in cooler were also “completely destroyed.”
“We had just made a purchase of $2,000 worth of produce for our mobile food market that morning, so it was completely full, and we worked in the early hours of the morning to ensure as little of this food was lost as possible,” McLeod said.
“We have ordered the new condenser, and I am hopeful it won’t be more than a week before we are fully up and running again.”
She said the food bank will remain open but will only be able to offer a reduced selection of items that would require a freezer or refrigeration.
“We have plenty of non-perishable food so those in need should not hesitate to stop by for their emergency food needs,” McLeod said.
In a release, police said they have arrested a 30-year-old man and charged him with arson in connection with the incident.
No injuries were reported to police as a result of the fire.