As grocery prices continue to rise, food security is becoming increasingly difficult for some families in Saskatchewan.
The Moose Jaw and District Food Bank is one place feeling the pinch. Over the last two years, the number of households using the food bank has doubled from 400 to 800.
“We have noticed a huge increase of people who are accessing our services that are employed and the cost of groceries and living costs have skyrocketed and it’s making a huge impact on our community,” said Jason Moore, the food bank’s executive director.
Moore said unless things turn around, the food bank plans to give clients one hamper per month instead of two beginning in August. He said thousands of people access the food bank every month and 40 per cent of those people are children.
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“In order to keep up and to sustain us for the next three months, at least until our next big food drive, we need to raise about $150,000,” Moore said.
Moore said higher grocery prices and rent increases have forced more people to use the food bank, while the number of donations hasn’t increased at the same rate.
John Bailey, the CEO of Regina’s food bank, says Moose Jaw’s struggles point to a larger trend in Canada of food banks unable to keep up with demand.
Bailey said addressing underlying issues, with more affordable housing and a living wage, is necessary to reduce food bank usage.
Moore said the food bank does not receive any government funding, meaning it relies solely on grant funding and “the kindness of the community.”
Saskatchewan NDP MLA Meara Conway echoed the food bank’s call for help, asking the provincial government to step up to the plate.
“We’re very much here to call on the provincial government to take immediate action to address the cost-of-living crisis, to stop punching down on the most vulnerable and step up for the people of Saskatchewan and particularly here for the people of Moose Jaw,” Conway said.
In a statement, the province said the Ministry of Social Services “values the work food banks do to help individuals in their communities.”
“The ministry continues to have conversations with Food Banks of Saskatchewan about the needs they are seeing across Saskatchewan, and we look forward to having more to say on this front in the coming days,” the statement read.
The food bank has approximately two to three weeks’ worth of stock and “desperately” needs food donations, according to Moore.