With students returning to the classroom next week in Nova Scotia, food banks in the region are getting calls from families looking for help with everything from school supplies to food.
“I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Just last week, we had 20 new registrations. People that never used a food bank are here,” said Glace Bay Food Bank co-ordinator, Linda MacRae.
MacRae says they’re at a critical state right now, with increasing numbers and donations dwindling and costs continuing to rise.
“They’re really nervous. I can see the difference in the clients that come here. They’re scared,” she said.
Feed Nova Scotia says they're seeing more first-time users than ever before.
“Right now, about 46,000 Nova Scotians access support from a food bank, and one third are children. And this problem is a 12-month a year crisis,” said Abby Crosby, Feed Nova Scotia communications manager.
Crosby says the demand for food banks is increasing rapidly, and already, compared to this time last year, the need is up more than 25 per cent.
The cost of living continues to be a big factor and, with colder months ahead, it’s only going to get worse if prices stay high.
“Folks often look to us for the solutions and we do our best with the support we get from community, but we all need to be asking what government is doing about the crisis of food insecurity,” said Crosby.
MacRae agrees more government support is needed and says some food banks in the province are on the verge of closing all together.
“There's just a deep frustration of how are we going to do this,” she said.
