Food Banks BC branches are begging for donations to get through what organization president Marilyn Herrmann is calling the toughest year she can remember.
Herrmann says most of the 93 food banks across the province are running out of donated stock more quickly than usual, and some are relying on purchased food for the nearly 100,000 British Columbians they feed each month.
“I’m getting phone calls from other food banks who are saying their stock of food is very low and they’ve had to purchase or they don’t have the money to purchase,” said Herrmann. “With Surrey we started to purchase food in May. Normally we don’t start doing that until August or September.”
While not all locations are having issues with stock -- the Hope branch said they are not experiencing a shortage -- many in the Lower Mainland are particularly affected.
Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society spokeswoman Kay Thody said they’ve seen a 10 per cent increase in clients over 2011, leaving stocks troublingly low.
At the Surrey/Delta Food Bank that Herrmann is based out of, they are struggling to find healthy food options.
“People can’t live on crackers and starches,” said Herrmann.
Other factors have contributed to the depleting stocks, too. On Aug. 2, a fire at the food bank warehouse in Kamloops left all the items stored inside unusable. According to Kamloops RCMP, that fire is being treated as suspicious.
Community members have rallied together for food drives to replenish Kamloops’ stocks, something Herrmann hopes others in B.C. will do.
Summer is typically a difficult time for food banks, says Herrmann, as kids are out of school and more families rely on their services. But she hasn’t yet put her finger on why this year is so tough.
“I think everyone is feeling the increase of fuel and food prices in general, so they don’t have the money to donate to the food bank. Or maybe they’re just busy.”
For now, she’s encouraging other food banks to be smart in their distribution and make food stretch as far as they can, and asking communities to donate healthy items.
