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By Nathan Jordan

Food Bank

Local Food Bank Resorts to Buying Own Groceries to Keep Up With Demand

Oct 7, 2022 | 5:00 PM

Prince George – With sky high inflation pinching the pennies of British Columbians, you may have found yourself facing some tough choices at the grocery stores lately, and those same tough choices are being made at our local food banks. Customer bases have ballooned by about 40% compared to pre-pandemic levels, and with a near total freeze on public donations due to COVID-19, the local Salvation Army Food Bank has been given a bitter pill to swallow in order to keep providing their services… they have to start buying their own groceries to give away.

“In 2022 we have seen a 40% increase in services users of the food bank, and donations have gone down. I don’t have numbers, I just know that we’re purchasing more food, which is diverting funds from other areas where we could be supporting people.” – Terra LeFlamme

Terra LeFlamme, a supervisor at the Salvation Army Food Bank on 18th Avenue, says the reason for the drop in donations has everything to do with economics. People who had been regularly donating for years, now forced to keep a closer watch on their own pantry and cupboards, meaning they donate less, and fewer resources end up on food bank shelves .

“Our economy these days is not what it used to be previous to COVID, so people are just not able to give on the same level that they were before… and yet the base of people who are coming in to use the Food Bank has gone up. So theres definitely a disconnect in terms of what we’re able to receive, what people are able to give, and what we’re able to provide to people” – Terra LaFamme

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For now, The Food bank itself has pitched in to manage the shortfall, with volunteers picking up food items from grocery stores, courtesy of the Salvation Army.