Food bank calls for donations to meet increasing demand
The Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre is making a last-minute appeal for donations as its annual winter fundraising drive comes to a close.
Executive director Laurie O’connor said the organization is seeing an uptick in demand caused by the rising cost of food, changes to provincial welfare programs and the financial costs of the holiday season.
“We see more folks coming to our doors over the month of December, and that’s mostly because people’s budgets are stressed,” O’connor said.
The food bank serves approximately 20,000 people each month, 43 per cent of whom are children.
The organization aims to raise $500,000, plus 500,000 pounds of food, before the end of next week and is 75 per cent of the way to reaching that goal.
Nutrien has pledged to match all cash donations made to food banks in Saskatchewan until the end of December, up to a maximum of $250,000.
Food is progressively becoming more expensive across the country. A report from the Dalhousie University Agri-food analytics lab says annual food costs for the average Canadian family grew by $487 over 2019.
O’connor said she’s also concerned by ongoing changes in welfare systems as the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program is introduced.
The program, intended to lift people out of poverty by giving them more control over payments, has been criticized by advocates warning some recipients will not immediately be prepared to responsibly manage their money.
“If folks are being evicted or are not paying their rent, they’re going to turn to shelters and food banks,”
O’connor said.
O’connor said people can donate money at major grocery stores throughout the city, online or via cheque.
If donors wish to drop off food, she asks for donations of nutritious items that can balance out a meal, like canned soups and stews, produce or dry pasta.