In an effort to reach out and engage the community more efficiently, the Surrey Food Bank Society has created a new position in the community partnership co-ordinator.

Stepping into the role will be Kuldip K. Ardawa, whose longtime work with the food bank made her the ideal candidate for the position.

"All of our fundraising is based on engaging the community and involving the community by learning about the food bank and maybe becoming a volunteer," said Marilyn Herrmann, executive director for the food bank.

"So what we wanted to do is find someone who is involved with the community and can come in and perhaps bring in new people that we may not otherwise know."

Ardawa's role as the community partnership coordinator will be to build partnerships with community stakeholders and the Surrey Food Bank, as well as inform the communities of Surrey and North Delta about what kinds of services are available to them at the bank.

"This was something we created and she (Ardawa) had worked with us before," explained Herrmann. "It's something that we believed we needed and sometimes you want to kind of test the waters first and she's the type of person who can take off running."

Ardawa is no stranger to community engagement either, as she currently sits as a member of the City of Surrey's social planning advisory committee as well as having a history with the Surrey Fraser Heights Rotary Club where she was the first Indo-Canadian woman to be elected president.

"(Ardawa) has a really good handle on the struggles and challenges that low-income people are faced with," said Hermann. "She's just got a great big warm heart and we love it when people can tell the story of the food bank and our clients and she certainly has a lot of passion."

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