A rural non-profit group near Thunder Bay continues to help the most vulnerable, 25 years after its start in the humble surroundings that inspired its namesake.

"It literally started in a cupboard in a Lutheran church, and it just grew from there," Rural Cupboard Food Bank chair Mark Halabecki said on Thursday from his home near Kakabeka Falls.

The volunteer-run food bank — which has since relocated to an addition beside Conmee's recreational complex – now helps about 1,000 individual and families throughout the year.

"Demand (for food) ebbs and flows, depending on the season and time of year, but we have seen a steady increase this year," Halabecki said.

Rural Cupboard provides food hampers to the needy once a month. They contain enough food to last an individual or family an entire w

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