Food banks appealing for donations as record number of people use service
Posted November 21, 2015 9:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s a reminder issued every year as we gear up for the holiday season — donate to food banks. And the need appears to be greater this year, as new national numbers show there are a record number of people using the service.
The statistics from Food Banks Canada show more than 100,000 struggling British Columbians are using the service to put food on the table.
Laura Lansink with Food Banks BC says what’s really disturbing is nearly one-third of these people are children. “In BC, we have one of the highest child poverty rates of any other province in Canada and that means that even if the parents, and often times these parents are working, perhaps two or three jobs but at minimum wage. And that simply doesn’t cover all the costs they need when you have children in your family and that’s when our food banks are able to step in.”
She adds some local food banks have had to close temporarily over the years because their shelves are bare.
“At this time of year food banks really depend on those donations to come in because often times people are very generous through the holidays but in the summertime if they don’t have their shelves filled they’ll either have to cut back on what they’re giving to the families or simply they’ll have to shut their doors over a number of weeks.”
Remember, for every $1 donated food banks can buy up to $3 worth of food.
