Thanksgiving Day is this weekend but the Guelph Food Bank still has a long way to go before it is able to reach its food collection goal.
The food bank’s annual food drive began on Sept. 15 with the goal of 90,000 pounds of food by Oct. 16.
It is currently sitting at 13,000 pounds as of Monday.
Food bank administrator Pauline Cripps says in addition to non-perishable food items, they are looking for other essentials as well.
“Definitely hygiene items are something we take as well, especially feminine hygiene products,” said Cripps. “Even toilet paper, that’s been a huge request lately.”
According to Statistics Canada, the cost of food has gone up by as much as 11 per cent over the last couple of months. That has apparently led to more people relying on food banks to make ends meet.
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“We were starting to see the numbers rise around that time,” said Cripps. “Then with the cost of food going up as much as they are, we are just seeing more and more people who used to be able to afford it.”
Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax, tells Global News that it costs more to buy Thanksgiving staples like turkey and cranberries than in previous years.
“Poultry is generally up 15 per cent year to year,” said Charlebois. “Potatoes are up 22 per cent compared to last year. Cranberries are up 12 per cent.”
People can drop off their donations at grocery store bins, fire halls and the food bank warehouse at 100 Crimea St.
Cash or cheque donations can also be dropped off or mailed to the warehouse.
There is also a link to give on the Guelph Food Bank website.
— with files from Sandy Salerno
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