Calgary Food Bank dealing with 'unprecedented' demand as wait times for hampers exceed two weeks

More than 800 volunteers every week are helping distribute emergency hampers at the Calgary Food Bank as the organization deals with demand it has never experienced.

"This is unprecedented for us. We've never been in a situation at the Calgary Food Bank where folks have been waiting this long for support," said Melissa From, the food bank's president and CEO.

The wait time to receive a hamper is now up to 15 days, something the food bank says it hopes to bring down -- but it needs help and is urging any Calgarians who can do so to donate food or funds to help meet the increased demand.

"We book 500 emergency food hampers a day, which is the most we've ever done on a daily basis," From explained. The food bank is aiming to up that number by at least 250 per day through the summer months.

"This is unprecedented for us. We've never been in a situation at the Calgary Food Bank where folks have been waiting this long for support," said Melissa From, the food bank's president and CEO.

"It just speaks to that this is a compounding issue," she said. Inflation and the current economic environment has caused food prices to soar, From said, leaving people turning to food banks when they typically may not need the help.

Between January and March of this year, the Calgary Food Bank saw an 18 per cent increase in demand for hampers compared to the previous year.

"We have folks who, at one point maybe would have even been donors to the food bank -- throwing an extra box of cereal or cans of soup in those bins at the grocery store -- who are now saying 'for our family of four, we can't even make ends meet and now we need your help'," From said.

The most urgent items needed right now include peanut butter, canned fruits and veggies, baby cereal and formula. But From also said monetary donations are the most useful right now, as the food bank can turn every dollar into five dollars' worth of fresh food, such as milk, eggs and protein.