Members of the Lethbridge Curling Club present cheques to the Lethrbidge Food Bank and Interfaith Food Bank, November 9, 2022. (Image: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Curling Club donates to Lethbridge food banks as inflation hits families

Nov 9, 2022 | 3:21 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge’s two largest food banks say a donation from the Lethbridge Curling Club (LCC) will go a long way in supporting families hit hard by the rising cost of living.

The LCC presented cheques of $5,400 each to the Lethbridge Food Bank and Interfaith Food Bank on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.

LCC General Manager Kirk Mearns explains that the donated funds came from the 50-50 raffle at the 2022 Tim Horton’s Brier, which was held in March 2022 at the ENMAX Centre.

He says it is important to him and the rest of the organization to give back to the community and support local non-profits.

“We’re community-oriented,” says Mearns. “We want to make sure that when we raise money so that everyone wins, that we can give everyone a helping hand where we can and when we can.”

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: February 10-16, 2025

Feb 10, 2025

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: January 29-February 2, 2025

Jan 29, 2025

Lethbridge Food Bank Executive Director Mac Nichol says it feels great to receive such a large donation as it is needed now more than ever.

“We’ve seen a large spike in clients at the food bank over the last few months, and now with Christmas coming, it’s not slowing down,” says Nichol.

He tells LNN that in the month of October, 90 more families utilized the Lethbridge Food Bank’s hamper program than in the same time last year.

Nichol says he believes the spike in demand is largely due to the rising cost of living with the prices of things like utilities, groceries, gas, and more becoming more expensive.

He adds that food banks are not able to stretch their dollars as far as they used to.

“We have more clients that need to access to the program, but then we need to go buy more food and that food costs a lot more,” says Nichol.

Another struggle these organizations have been facing, says Nichol, is that donations like the one they received from the LCC are becoming less common.

“We’ve seen a little bit less [in donations] than we normally do. As we’ve seen more clients, I’m sure there are a lot of our donors that are being put in positions where they need to take care of themselves more than they did,” says Nichol.

He says cash donations are the best as the food bank is able to buy in bulk and get a better price for goods. Certain grocery stores also have deals with food banks where, if they buy a pallet of food, the store will donate a second pallet to them.

“If you want to donate food directly to us, we’re really looking for things like peanut butter, dried pastas, canned soup. Anything that has a longer lasting shelf life goes a long way for us,” says Nichol.

The Household Food Insecurity in Canada report found that some level of food insecurity was seen in 20.3% of Alberta households in 2021.

Another report from HELPSEEKER highlights the 12.4% poverty rate in Lethbridge as of 2019, including 15.2% of youths.

READ MORE: Food bank usage rising in Lethbridge and across Alberta

READ MORE: Report shows how pervasive poverty is in Lethbridge

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.