Mission grappling with unprecedented growth in demand
LETHBRIDGE – The Streets Alive Mission is planning a new approach to deal with an unprecedented need, as it appeals in the short term for donations to its food pantry.
Associate director of philanthropy Marie McLennan told LethbridgeNewsNOW the amount of food being given out by the pantry has tripled in the last year, and the shelves are starting to become bare. She explained the pantry is for clients of the city’s other food banks who find themselves running short.
“Sometimes it’s because they don’t know how to prepare the food they’re given, and that kind of thing,” McLennan said, “and so we rely heavily on very simple – canned pastas, beans, canned meats, those kinds of things that are basically open and heat kinds of foods versus something that they actually have to cook.”
She added wholesale-sized products are welcomed because unlike with a regular food bank, their staff will break them down into individual servings in food-safe containers. She said they’re looking for peanut butter, canned pasta, canned fruits and vegetables, ready-to-eat soups, canned meat and fish, and pre-cooked canned beans.