Central Okanagan Food Bank sees record increase in demand

At the Central Okanagan Food Bank, the number of people coming in for help is growing.

The months of December and January were record months for the organization.

“It’s the highest numbers we’ve ever seen right across the board,” said Trevor Moss, Central Okanagan Food Bank chief executive director.

Among the growing demographic needing help are seniors.

“Because they’re on a fixed income,” Moss said. “We just really feel for them. It’s challenging.”

According to Moss, since the beginning of December, the Central Okanagan Food Bank — which has locations in Kelowna and West Kelowna — has seen a seven per cent increase in the number of seniors accessing food.

Moss said that’s about 350 new seniors in just the last two months.

He attributed the growing number to inflation.

“It’s clearly stated when they actually come into the food bank, and especially first-time users, they indicate why they’re coming in. And the main reason is inflation,” Moss said.

4:31 Money Management: How seniors on a fixed income can better deal with rising inflation and increased costs of living

At the Senior Centre at Parkinson Rec Centre, the rising costs of living are a big topic among clients.

“You hear this all the time. Whenever you sit down and visit with people, the price of food comes up all the time,” said John Bohn, president of the Parkinson Senior Society.

“So yeah, it’s a problem for the low-income seniors that are here.”

At an exercise class held at the senior centre on Thursday, many seniors taking part told Global News they were getting by amid inflation.

2:35 Food inflation: Rising prices make eating healthy a struggle for low-income Canadians

They have enough disposable income for extras, such as fitness classes, but they noted inflation has many of them watching what they spend.

“A bottle of oil used to be 8.99. It’s (now) 13.99. I thought ‘I’m not doing that.’ I’m sick of it,” said senior Trudy Donohoe.

At the Capri Centre Mall in Kelowna, seniors who spoke to Global News said they were cutting back on expenses and/or changing their shopping habits.

“You have to watch your budget better now,” said Danusia Steel. “I try and buy more things on sale.”

“It’s pretty hard when you’re a senior and on a set income,” said senior Margie Phillips. “Every time I go shopping, it goes up and up and up.”

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Moss expects the trend of more seniors visiting the food bank to continue for another few months before things possibly stabilize.

“The sad thing is most of us, when we think about retirement, it’s supposed to get easier,” said Moss.

“What we’re hearing is that it’s getting more difficult.”

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