There are troubling statistics coming from a survey done this summer by the Saint John Community Food Basket, the main food bank and distribution centre in the city.
Food Basket officials say more than one-half of their clients say the food bank has become their main source of food. Food banks are essentially an emergency service to help people with food over a few days.
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The extent of the clients using the food bank for more than this was not something Food Basket officials were expecting.
“I find that first of all, as I said, it’s overwhelming because what more can we do as a food basket,” said coordinator David McCready.
Shawn Smith is a client of the Food Basket. The 54-year-old can’t work because of health reasons. He does buy some groceries on his own but that’s limited because of his fixed income.
“It only goes so far and by the middle of the month you know I’m flat broke and out of groceries.”
Smith is but one of about one thousand people the food basket provides food for each month. A survey this year indicated more than half of its clients were now using the service as their prime source of food. Even people who work there weren’t aware of the extent.
McCready says on top of that donations are down.
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“That means that that we either have less food to give out or we have less money to purchase food and the food that we are purchasing is costing us more so our dollar isn’t going as far this year as it did a couple of years ago,” he said.
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Another troubling finding relates to a lack of affordable housing in the city.
“Over half of our clients reported that they are spending between well at least 60 percent of their monthly income on housing,” McCready said.
As for Smith, he says more food would be good, but he sure appreciates what he can get.
“I actually would like to eat more than I am,” he said. “I thank the good Lord for this place because I don’t know how I’d make through the next fifteen days”.
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