‘We’re taking from people who are struggling to help other people who are struggling’
Food banks in southern Alberta towns say they need more help from donors to meet rising demand.
In Vulcan, food bank usage in August was up 120 per cent compared with the same month last year, said Dawn Wiseman, executive director of the Vulcan Regional Food Bank. The food bank serves Vulcan County residents from its location in the town of about 1,800 residents, 90 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
“We can’t keep up to the pace at this point without some sponsorships or funders,” said Wiseman.
In a recent letter to donors, the Vulcan Regional Food Bank Society says it is looking for sustainable solutions to keep up with rapidly rising costs of transportation and groceries.
The food bank society, which receives no government funding and relies on donors, urges residents and businesses to sponsor an expense or commit to a monthly gift to help with the costs.
The demands will continue to grow as the cost of living keeps going up, said Wiseman.
But the food bank’s ability to help those in need was dealt a blow this year, when federal funding for its Rural Development Network program was cut by 80 per cent. That funding allowed staff to help residents struggling to pay expenses, such as their rent or damage deposit, and prevented them from becoming unhoused.
But with the cutback, staff are limited to helping residents to budget and gain access to emergency funding, said Wiseman.
“It was a well-used program. It’s so sad to see,” she said. “People are like, ‘You used to be able to help with this,’ and we’re like, ‘I’m sorry, our funding was completely cut by 80 per cent and we have 20 per cent left.’ It’s pretty stressful.”
Meanwhile, Wiseman says she’s never seen so many unhoused people come through the doors of Vulcan’s food bank as she has lately.
“They have been well-supported here. They can use the kitchen to make healthy breakfast or lunch if they’re hungry. They’ve been using the laundry facilities at some points. Just different, various things to try to support them.”
In Claresholm, food bank manager Melissa Chiasson estimates usage has doubled in the past 18 months. Claresholm is about 120 kilometres south of Calgary.
The food bank in the town of roughly 4,000 residents has been running for more than 30 years. For much of that time, it has been able to build up its bank balance due to having enough food donations coming in year after year, said Chiasson. But that’s no longer the case.
“In the last year, we’re now spending anywhere from $5,000 to $6,000 on food,” said Chiasson.
The Claresholm food bank used to receive additional pallets of food from the Calgary Food Bank when needed, but with the rise in demand and no peak in sight, that’s no longer being provided, said Chiasson.
“So going from 52 pallets of food every four to six months to now we receive one pallet of food from Leduc per month,” she said.
Claresholm’s food bank, which has been preparing roughly 120 hampers a month, has put out many public pleas to host more food drives to bring in more donations, but people are also hurting financially and donations are down, said Chiasson.
“It’s a tough one, because we’re taking from people who are struggling to help other people who are struggling.”