Inflation taking a bite out of food donations to community kitchens and food banks
The rising cost of living has forced the demand for services at Langford’s Goldstream Food Bank to climb as the donations of food and cash drop to a trickle.
Staff at the agency say they have seen a 67 per cent increase in people requesting a food hamper since January 2022. They say they are serving the needs of people who are working, but with inflation hitting a level not seen for more than 40 years, more and more families need a helping hand at the end of the month.
“With rent going up and the price of gas being high, people have less and less disposable income,” said Goldstream Food Bank vice president Walter Dubeau. “People come in and they are at their wit's end and they need a hand and we’re here to provide that.”
Volunteers with the food bank say they are struggling to meet the increased demand due a drop in food and cash donations. They say the high cost of living has resulted people being forced to feed their own families before donating to the food agency at grocery stores.
“We used to be able to pick up two or three boxes at each store full of food and now and now we’re lucky if we pick up one,” said Dubeau. “If the trend keeps going the way it is, we may have to reduce the amount stuff we put in a hamper in order to serve everybody.”
The drop in food donations and the increased need to provide meals is also a concern for the volunteers at Esquimalt’s Rainbow Kitchen. They say the number of meals they are providing for the people they serve has jumped from 150 to more than 300 a day since 2020.
“We see new faces coming through our door every single day and we just keep seeing the demand rise,” said Rainbow Kitchen manager Ray Oelke. “We see a lot of families looking for groceries for their kids' lunches and as school has begun again those families are still looking for food.”
Oelke says she has also seen a drop in donations of food because people have less money to give due to the pressure of the high cost of living. She says with less donated food coming in to the community kitchen, the organization has to buy more food to fill the gap in order to provide meals for the people it serves.
“We rely less heavily on donated food and we're having to spend more to keep our fridge stocked so that we can keep providing lunches,” said Oelke. “We are depending more on fundraising and grants in order to make our meals happen.”
Dubeau says the Goldstream Food Bank is also coping with fewer cash donations coming into the Langford warehouse facility and online. He says so far donations of money are down about 30 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021.
“I see this as a bad trend and hopefully if the economy can stabilize, people will adapt and we can start getting more donations,” said Dubeau. “Monetary donations are very good because it helps us buy product to keep us going.”
Dubeau says what the agency needs now is donors purchasing food at grocery stores or dropping goods off at the Langford food bank on Station Avenue. He says items donated can immediately go on the shelves and into hampers for families.
“It's a difficult situation, balancing between the items that we purchase and the amount of food that’s donated, because they both go hand in hand to support the program,” said Dubeau. “We just hope that we get enough donations to do both.”
At the Rainbow Kitchen, Oelke says the volunteers are always fundraising to keep the meal program going. She says that cash donations made online on the community kitchen’s website go directly to support the program.
“We are always trying to get the word out about our kitchen so that we can keep providing the meals that we are at the rate that we are,” said Oelke. “We’ve seen a 100 per cent increase since 2020 with the number of meals that we are creating and in order to sustain that with the demand increase we’re always looking for more donations."
Dubeau says the volunteers at Goldstream Food Bank are already forecasting an increased need from families to receive Christmas hampers. He says the agency provided more than 600 families with hampers before Christmas 2021.
“I think this year we're going to be more towards 800 to 900 families,” said Dubeau. “That would make close to 2,000 people – children and adults – that we would serve.”
To make a donation go to the Goldstream Food Bank website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
BREAKING Police cordon off Iran consulate in Paris where man threatens to blow himself up: French media
French police cordoned off the Iranian consulate in Paris on Friday, where a man was threatening to blow himself up, Europe 1 radio and BFM TV.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.