If all donations of food and cash stopped coming in as of today, the Friends in Need Food Bank could get by for several months, maybe five or six, based on its cash reserves.

Then it would have to close and abandon the thousands who have come to depend on it.

There’s no danger of that happening, however.

The six-month margin was just given by new executive-director Joanne Olson to illustrate Friends in Need’s financial situation.

Olson, who took over the job from Tiffany Parton last week, wants to bolster those reserves.

“I’ve got some ideas percolating on doing some fundraising and events which really hasn’t been done in the last couple of years,” she said Thursday.

Accepting the three-quarter-time job means Olson no longer has to spend three hours commuting to Vancouver.

“For me, I’m back in my community.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but I love the food bank.”

Olson has more than 20 years of experience in executive and special-event management and in tourism.

She has served on several non-profit boards, including as past chair and director of the Friends In Need Food Bank Society, said a release.

Tyler Shymkiw, current food bank chair, made the announcement Wednesday.

Olson said in the release “it is my intention to ensure that we are able to continue the community support as well as find innovative new ideas to meet the needs of our clients.”

Olson was speaking Thursday in the warehouse part of the food bank, where food was piled high and where five volunteers from Envision Financial were helping out for four hours that day.

They were part of Envision’s Days of Caring in which the credit union helps the United Way and its agencies. This year, 109 Envision employees took the day off to help in their community.

Aaron Theilade, with Envision Financial investment services in Maple Ridge, wanted to help out because he’d heard that Friends in Need was having a tough time.

He and four other Envision Financial employees from the Langley head office sorted and repackaged the food so it can be put into hampers.

“It’s pretty easy. All we’re doing is bagging oatmeal.” But it feels good to help out, he said.

Olson said such activities can get volunteers excited to help at other times.

The food bank distributes to more than 700 families and singles in a month and provides supplies to other community agencies and programs and receives more than 105,000 kilograms of food donations each year.

In the first half of the year, Friends in Need saw a 30-per-cent increase in demand. Last spring, up to 10 people were registering a day.

The registered client list now sits at about 5,600, with 1,200 of those children under 12.

Friends in Need Food Bank also supports a secondary depot out of Grace Community Church in Pitt Meadows.

Olson replaces Tiffany Parton, who started last November and who followed Glenda Williams.

Williams replaced Vicki Travis in June 2006. Travis was hired in September 2005, replacing Fran Haughian.