Canadians are bracing themselves for another round of rising food as sky-rocketing oil prices brought on by Middle East unrest and the global economic crisis is impacting every link in the food production chain. Pressure on food costs, rising costs for gas and electricity and a lack of jobs are all contributing to increased reliance on local food banks across Canada, a trend that Deb Billwiller, president of the Boundary Food Bank Society, says hits close to home.
“We’re seeing not just increased usage from our regular clients who have been registered for quite a while who maybe just came during the winter months or every second or third month (when electrical bills come in). We’re seeing more and more of these people coming every month,” said Billwiller. “We’re also seeing a lot of new clients.”
Increasing costs may also hit food banks with a double whammy by reducing donations.
“Our donors are feeling more of a pinch and as their disposable income is reduced, that certainly impacts on what they provide to us, and it’s going to have an impact on the (cost of) groceries that we buy,” Billwiller commented.
In January and February of this year alone the food bank saw 17 new clients registered, said Billwiller, and they have seen an increase in hampers distributed of over 14 percent between 2009 and 2010 (2009 - 1366 hampers; 2010 - 1562). In 2010 there were 96 new households registered with over half of those being single people.
“Anecdotally we’ve been told by more than one client that they are actually told by the employment and assistance office if they make any comment like, ‘my rent is this much, you’ve left me $90 a month for groceries for three people’, or whatever they’re specific figures are, they are told they are expected to use the food bank. They are expected to go to the soup kitchen if necessary,” explained Billwiller. “What started out as emergency measures (food banks) have become an accepted part of society.”
Every March the national Hunger Count is done to collect information on who food banks serve. For the Boundary in 2010 about 18 percent were on a disability pension, 7 percent employed, 5 percent employment insurance, 52 percent social assistance, 7 percent pension, 6 percent other and 5 percent showed no income at all.
Food Banks Canada reported in its HungerCount2010 that “867, 948 Canadians walked through the front door of a food bank in March 2010 asking for help. That’s the highest level of food bank use on record.”
Because of this recently released report, federal New Democrats are calling on the Canadian government to address this growing trend through a national food strategy encouraging a healthy agriculture industry with a focus on sustainability.
“Conservatives keep looking to trade deals which only serve to make our food system dangerously vulnerable to the price of oil,” said MP Alex Atamanenko, representative for B.C. Southern Interior. “It is time we look at ways to strengthen our domestic markets and local economies as a way to reduce our dependence on imported food so that we become less vulnerable to the energy hikes and other economic shocks that lie ahead.”
Billwiller welcomed Atamanenko’s efforts for change at the level of provincial and federal governments, something the Boundary Food Bank relies on their umbrella associations to do.
“At our level, especially with our being entirely volunteer driven, while we sometimes brainstorm about ways we can help our clients we really don’t have the resources to focus on anything beyond getting in the donations and getting them out to the people,” said Billwiller. “That’s taking everything that we have. We’re too busy putting out the fires to try and stop them from starting.”
The local food bank depends on the generosity of the Boundary community. With 65 percent of their budget being food donations, the society needs to maintain the levels of food but also needs at least $1500 cash a month just to open their doors. The service’s biggest gap is usually in April, when Christmas donations run out, and September of each year.
“It’s heartbreaking, it really is heartbreaking,” added Billwiller. “When somebody is scrambling to make ends meet, whether they have children or not, the problem is what it causes further down the line…it’s not just food. If they’re not eating properly and they’re frantic over how to pay bills, or which bills to pay, the whole issue around self-esteem and depression becomes very prevalent. It makes getting out of those ruts more difficult.”
Source: http://boundarysentinel.com
“We’re seeing not just increased usage from our regular clients who have been registered for quite a while who maybe just came during the winter months or every second or third month (when electrical bills come in). We’re seeing more and more of these people coming every month,” said Billwiller. “We’re also seeing a lot of new clients.”
Increasing costs may also hit food banks with a double whammy by reducing donations.
“Our donors are feeling more of a pinch and as their disposable income is reduced, that certainly impacts on what they provide to us, and it’s going to have an impact on the (cost of) groceries that we buy,” Billwiller commented.
In January and February of this year alone the food bank saw 17 new clients registered, said Billwiller, and they have seen an increase in hampers distributed of over 14 percent between 2009 and 2010 (2009 - 1366 hampers; 2010 - 1562). In 2010 there were 96 new households registered with over half of those being single people.
“Anecdotally we’ve been told by more than one client that they are actually told by the employment and assistance office if they make any comment like, ‘my rent is this much, you’ve left me $90 a month for groceries for three people’, or whatever they’re specific figures are, they are told they are expected to use the food bank. They are expected to go to the soup kitchen if necessary,” explained Billwiller. “What started out as emergency measures (food banks) have become an accepted part of society.”
Every March the national Hunger Count is done to collect information on who food banks serve. For the Boundary in 2010 about 18 percent were on a disability pension, 7 percent employed, 5 percent employment insurance, 52 percent social assistance, 7 percent pension, 6 percent other and 5 percent showed no income at all.
Food Banks Canada reported in its HungerCount2010 that “867, 948 Canadians walked through the front door of a food bank in March 2010 asking for help. That’s the highest level of food bank use on record.”
Because of this recently released report, federal New Democrats are calling on the Canadian government to address this growing trend through a national food strategy encouraging a healthy agriculture industry with a focus on sustainability.
“Conservatives keep looking to trade deals which only serve to make our food system dangerously vulnerable to the price of oil,” said MP Alex Atamanenko, representative for B.C. Southern Interior. “It is time we look at ways to strengthen our domestic markets and local economies as a way to reduce our dependence on imported food so that we become less vulnerable to the energy hikes and other economic shocks that lie ahead.”
Billwiller welcomed Atamanenko’s efforts for change at the level of provincial and federal governments, something the Boundary Food Bank relies on their umbrella associations to do.
“At our level, especially with our being entirely volunteer driven, while we sometimes brainstorm about ways we can help our clients we really don’t have the resources to focus on anything beyond getting in the donations and getting them out to the people,” said Billwiller. “That’s taking everything that we have. We’re too busy putting out the fires to try and stop them from starting.”
The local food bank depends on the generosity of the Boundary community. With 65 percent of their budget being food donations, the society needs to maintain the levels of food but also needs at least $1500 cash a month just to open their doors. The service’s biggest gap is usually in April, when Christmas donations run out, and September of each year.
“It’s heartbreaking, it really is heartbreaking,” added Billwiller. “When somebody is scrambling to make ends meet, whether they have children or not, the problem is what it causes further down the line…it’s not just food. If they’re not eating properly and they’re frantic over how to pay bills, or which bills to pay, the whole issue around self-esteem and depression becomes very prevalent. It makes getting out of those ruts more difficult.”
Source: http://boundarysentinel.com
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