Greater Vancouver Food Bank spending just to get by
Posted August 23, 2012 6:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is hitting some desperate times.
It doesn’t normally happen this early in the year, but the food bank is running short of resources. The organization is spending thousands of dollars just to be able to provide proper nutrition for the tens of thousands of people in need.
“We’ve just spent about $80,000 in buying fresh produce from local farmers. The food bank shelves are indeed quite empty at the moment,” says CEO Aart Shuurman Hess.
He points out in previous years, spending money to re-stock shelves has normally happened in the fall. “It’s much earlier in the year. The [need] has gone up about ten per cent compared to last year. We’re feeding about 27,000 people, right now, every week.”
The food is only expected to last about five weeks. Shuurman Hess tells us more donations would be a really big help right now.
“It’s the slowest time of the year for food bank donations… during the summer. We’re in need of food. Anyone who can help us out with additional donations, either it being food products and cash donations, will be appreciated,” he explains.
