Trades students in Regina lend a helping hand to Regina Food Bank

Eight students with the Regina Trades and Skills Centre (RTSC) are putting their knowledge to the test for the Regina Food Bank.

Students are reroofing around 5,000 square feet of one of the food bank’s buildings.

The food bank’s vice-president, David Froh, says the students are doing a lot more than simply repairing a roof.

“It’s also a day where the students are not only learning a great skill, but they’re giving back to their community and helping to feed their neighbours,” Froh said. “This is huge for us.”

There is roughly $60,000 in savings for the food bank because of the RTSC’s support. That’s enough for 180,000 meals, according to Froh.

Brian Shankowsky, the executive director of the RTSC, says not only are these students doing something charitable for the community, they’re also getting valuable experience towards their future careers.

“When you’re teaching in a classroom setting,  you don’t have the elements like this (and) you don’t have some of the things that can go wrong on a job site,” Shankowsky said. “It’s great training. This just adds to the element of where they’re going to be coming every single day.

“It’s a win all over the place. It’s a win for the students, it’s a win for the trade centre, it’s a win for the food bank, it’s a win for the organizations that are helping with this and it’s a win for the community.”

This project would have originally cost the Regina Food Bank well over $115,000. However, with RTSC students doing the labour at no cost, and the generosity of community partners coming together, the project has been reduced to a final bill of around $55,000.

Construction of the roof is expected to be finished sometime in the last week of March.