Maritime food banks balance high food costs, meeting demand

First at five we check in with charitable organizations in the Maritimes that are struggling to keep food banks stocked.

At Bedford Lions Community Food Pantry, the motto is “Take what you need. Give what you can.”

Chairman Peter Fredericks says it’s an offer more people are taking them up on.

“With food prices going up the way that they are, we stock our pantry daily and it’s pretty much gone by the next morning,” he says.

The pantry is open 24 hours a day, and services around 500 people a year.

While Fredericks says donations have been a huge help, he admits it hasn’t been enough to keep up with demand.

“Folks are falling on hard times. The costs keep going up, especially grocery costs, which I don’t think are going to go down anytime soon. So, it’s hard for folks to get by,” he says.

Food banks are normally a reliable resource, but they aren’t exempt from the impacts of inflation.

“Even with the food donations that we receive, we still, last year alone, we spent $7,000 on groceries,” says Fredericks.

Lisa Harrison, with Brunswick Street Mission in Halifax, says their food bank spends $7,500 dollars on groceries a month, not including their $4,500 dollar breakfast budget.

“We do spend a lot of money on food at Brunswick Street Mission, for sure… we regularly order in and go out and buy food all the time,” says Harrison.

“It’s not enough food for what they need. It’s just enough food for maybe a week. But it’s the best we can do with what we’ve got.”

She says their clients aren’t just unhoused individuals – a large amount are newcomers, students and working people.

Stéphane Sirois, the executive director of Feed New Brunswick, says food inflation has forced them to scale back.

“Meat is very expensive. We stopped purchasing beef a few weeks ago because it’s very expensive and so we substitute with other proteins,” he says.

“So, families will probably, if (they) were receiving twice a month food assistance, (they) might have to survive on once a month or lesser food or less quality. So, we’re very, very worried about another wave of individuals and families needing help.”

Meanwhile, Fredericks hopes the community will continue to make donations of all kinds.

He says food isn’t the only thing that is of popular demand at the Bedford Lions Community Food Pantry.

“We’ve been trying to encourage people to drop off toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, soap, laundry detergent, dish detergent… all the usual items that a person would normally buy when they get groceries.”

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