Food bank usage rising in Lethbridge and across Alberta

Approximately one-in-five children across the country lived in food-insecure households in 2021.

Lethbridge Food Bank Executive Director Mac Nichol says he was not surprised to see the numbers as high as they were, as their food bank has become increasingly busy throughout 2022.

“The majority of our numbers are from single adults, and frankly, it comes down to, they just don’t have the same kind of support a family does,” says Nichol. “Families get a lot of support from federal and provincial funding to make sure they can cover their needs, while single adults sometimes get pushed to the side as they’re not a priority.”

Nichol says food insecurity in Lethbridge has risen since COVID-19 support programs died down. At the same time, residents have been dealing with higher inflation and interest rates, among other economic factors.

Even those who have jobs have been struggling to put food on the table.

“We have quite a few clients that have jobs, that are 9-5 jobs, and they’re still not making enough money for themselves and their families,” says Nichol. “That seems to be the hardest part – they’re working and they still can’t get over that poverty line.”

The saving grace for his service and the people who rely upon it, Nichol adds, is that Lethbridge is a generous community. In the 2022 Target Hunger campaign, for example, Lethbridge residents donated more than 60,000 lbs of food.

“Our community is much more active in trying to make sure that the organizations we have can support clients and people in these situations,” says Nichol. “We’ve seen our community come out recently and really try to support the food banks, both financially, volunteer time, and food.”

While any and all donations are appreciated, Nichol says cash donations can do more to help vulnerable residents than food. The rule of thumb, he explains, is that for every dollar donated, they can get about three dollars worth of food.

The Lethbridge Food Bank is part of societies like Food Banks Alberta, which can buy food in wholesale quantities and distribute it to individual member organizations.

Cash can also be useful for when food bank operators shop at grocery stores.

“Places like grocery stores here, Save-On and Safeway, are very great with, we’ll come with a want to them and we’ll pay for a pallet and they’ll donate two pallets of other food to make sure that we can keep going at it that way. That’s where that dollar gets really stretched.

Alberta Community and Social Services Minister Jason Luan says the provincial government is working hard to support families in need.

“Alberta’s government continues to support the most vulnerable,” says Luan. “That’s why we provided $6 million in funding to support food banks and community organizations in their food supply efforts. These organizations continue to use this funding to ensure Albertans have secure access to food.”

The minister highlighted programs such as Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and the recent expansion of the Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit as just a couple of examples of how the province is supporting everyday Albertans.

“We are doing everything we can to help families get the support they need to pay rent, buy food, find and keep appropriate housing and care for their loved ones,” says Luan.

Luan continues to state that the Alberta Government has committed more money than any other province when it comes to initiatives targeting affordability.

by David Opinko

Food bank usage rising in Lethbridge and across Alberta

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