LITTLE CURRENT—“It is one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make,” said Rodney Deforge (aka Barney) of the closing of Barney’s Bargain Barn in Little Current. The closure includes the store and the free food distribution centre. Mr. Deforge cites the high cost of transportation as the key element in making that decision, but also notes the toll the business was taking on he and his wife’s health.
“If you are operating in Southern Ontario then it might cost you a couple of hundred dollars to pick up and deliver a load,” said Mr. Deforge. “It costs us around $2,100 a load and we have at least three a week coming in.” The costs were in the range of $10,000 to $12,000 a week. “We couldn’t carry the cost of that,” he said, noting that the store attached to the free food centre simply couldn’t sustain the revenue stream/cash flow needed.
When his contract with Second Harvest came up, Mr. Deforge said he was faced with a tough decision.
“We are not as young as we used to be,” he said of he and his wife and partner Lynette. “We put in about 18 hours a day,” said Mr. Deforge. “It’s a lot of work. The average person wouldn’t want to do it.”
One of the rumours floating around the community was that Barney’s had lost its charitable status.
“No, no,” he laughed. “Barney’s was never listed as a charity. It is a not-for-profit corporation. I have never written a charitable donation receipt for the business.”
Mr. Deforge, who is a pastor, explained that while his church Cornerstone Christian Charities does have charitable status, he has always kept the two entities entirely separate.
He said he is very proud of the fact that over the past 19 years Barney’s Bargain Barn has been able to bring in $61 million in food and admits that the loss of the free centre will create “a big hole” in local food security. But added that events have led to “time being up” for the operation.
“This is going to be big hit to the Island,” shared free centre volunteer Paul Richer. “A lot of people depend on the free centre every week, that and the cheap food available in the store.”
Things will not happen overnight, however. “We have three warehouses on the Island,” he said. “It will take time to clear all of them out.” He notes that items are purchased three months in advance of a season. “In the summer you would normally be buying Christmas stock.” His warehouses therefore are filled with items geared to spring and summer. Mr. Deforge anticipates that the final closure will take place by May.
The property where Barney’s Bargain Barn is located had been leased originally, but Mr. Deforge’s church has purchased the land and buildings and plans are in place to turn the building into a new church for the community.
