The Salvation Army in Portage la Prairie will be busy once again in the coming year. Major Brenda Coles says they're hoping to do some renovations to the building to make the space more accessible, noting they also want to work with other agencies in the community to develop programming around food and health. Coles says there are other programs which could be developed to really help give people the step up in life that they need. She notes this doesn't imply a change in direction for the Salvation Army, but rather a re-focusing for them in the new year.

Coles adds there's a lot of work being done around food banks nowadays in the broader community. She says some very interesting ideas are being developed around the issue of food security, noting they want to contribute and participate in that as much as possible. Coles adds the ultimate goal is that life would improve for people so there would be less dependency on institutional helps and folks can become more self-sufficient.