Calgary's food banks seek donations as demand reaches record levels

Calgary's food banks are feeling extra pressure, as the rising cost of living, an increasing inflation rate and supply chain issues push food prices ever-higher.

Arianna Scott, CEO of Food Banks Alberta, says the latest hunger count report indicated a 30 per cent increase in overall demand for food bank services across the province.

“This is the largest increase I’ve ever seen in my tenure of running food banks,” Scott said.

“We were worried one year when we saw a 12 per cent increase, but this is really unfathomable.”

Scott says food banks across the province have also seen a 64 per cent increase in the number of agencies accessing food, but also a 34 per cent decrease in the amount of donations received.

“Alberta has always been a province that takes great pride in supporting neighbors and doing really well for charities,” she said.

“But unfortunately, given the current economic situation in our province, donors are either unable to donate, they've become clients or donating is less feasible for them and so they're still donating less.”

According to the Alberta Motor Association (AMA), Alberta Food Banks are experiencing record demand, with more than 116,396 visitors every month.

A total of 38 per cent of those in need are children, which is above the national average of 33 per cent.

AMA is collecting donations at the Forest Lawn Co-op (330 17 Ave. S.E.) or the Creekside Co-op (12000 Symons Valley Rd.) between Sept. 16 and Sept. 30, with all proceeds supporting the Veterans Food Bank of Calgary.

Shawna Ogston at the Calgary Food Bank says her team is preparing for its annual City-Wide Food Drive on Saturday.

She says demand is continuing to increase, with 24,000 people coming to the food bank each month, translating to about 10,000 hampers donated.

“Unfortunately, people are being impacted by the rising cost of everything and food is the only thing that they can really adjust in their budget,” Ogston said.

“When the cost of inflation is affecting the people that are coming to the Calgary Food Bank, that is actually going to affect the food bank as well. We're seeing rising costs and fuel and food costs.”

The 17th annual food drive has garnered more than 1,000 volunteers who have dropped off bags in communities across the city and will start picking them up at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Accessibility also remains an issue, however, as disabled Calgarians and those without transportation still have food security issues.

Volunteers like Curtis Lovell with Care Connect regularly make trips to the food bank to deliver large loads of groceries to those in need, simply because they have restricted mobility and might fall through the cracks.

“So we deliver these hampers to ease those accessibility and transportation concerns because sometimes people don’t have the resources or the family or friends to help out,” Lovell said.

“It’s even more difficult when the cost of utilities or gas goes up and they have those pains along with keeping a roof over their head.”

EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPORT NEEDED IN CALGARY

As demand for emergency food support increases, donations of food become more and more important.

For the first eight months of 2022, the Calgary Food Bank has seen a 27 per cent increase in demand for food compared to 2021.

This August alone, the food bank served 27,400 people, compared to 20,800 in August, 2021.

Cash donations have also become very valuable, as the food bank is able to leverage every $1 donated into $5 worth of food.

Some of the most needed items right now include:

• Peanut butter;
• Cereal;
• Tuna, chicken and salmon; and
• Condensed soup
   

FOOD SECURITY ISSUES LIKELY TO REMAIN FOR 12 TO 24 MONTHS: EXPERT

As demand for food banks increases, so does the cost of purchasing basic goods and the sticker shock that many are seeing on grocery store shelves.

Stuart Smyth, agri-food innovation and sustainability enhancement chair at the University of Saskatchewan, says significant increases are likely to remain for the next 12 to 24 months.

We're still seeing pressures on the cost of food prices, with transportation costs and supply chain challenges,” he said.

“Until we see supply chains really start to get back to where they were in 2019. Food prices are going to be higher than what we would like.”

Smyth says there are some strategies that Canadians can use to help mitigate cost, including utilizing opportunities that allow people to grow their own food, or buying in bulk.

“Taking advantage of the opportunities of buying like half of a cow and then sharing it with three or four friends where everybody gets a couple of hundred pounds of meat, but that saves you having to buy that meat at significantly inflated prices through grocery stores,” he said.

“Also avoid the third-party labels that inflate food prices. Things like organic or non-GMO, those are all sort of luxury types of labelling. There's no change in the safety of the product, but the price is going to be 30 to 50 per cent higher.”