A jump in the number of children and youth using the Share Family and Community Services food bank has officials worried about kids getting enough nutrition in the summer months as school and community food programs drop off for the season.
As many as 1,619 children and youth got some of their food from the food bank in the last fiscal year, up 2%, according to Valerie Hutton, Share's director of programs, who said 39% of food bank users in the Tri-Cities are now children or teens.
This summer, many families will be struggling to put more food on the table, Hutton said, and with school breakfast and lunch programs in hiatus until fall, parents will need to make limited food dollars stretch even further.
Many of these families are facing high rents and other costs as the housing affordability crisis stretches into the suburbs from Vancouver, and Hutton said Share is seeing an increasing number of families who need to use the food bank to make ends meet.
“One of the reasons that I think we can attribute this is that as housing prices go up and rental prices go up, it puts a strain on the budget and we all know a lot of wages are flat. Families are having to make a choice: Do I pay my rent or do I buy food?” Hutton told The Tri-City News.
The Share stats and information are being released as it begins its summer food drive with a number of community events scheduled to replenish the shelves depleted since the Christmas giving season.
One of the newest innovations for increasing donations is a virtual store where people can see the types of items they can purchase with their donation.
For a contribution of $10, for example, donors can purchase a small pantry hamper of items such as peanut butter and pasta, while a small dairy hamper priced at $25 can buy milk and eggs.
“The best thing about the virtual grocery store is it allows parents to go on with their children with them, they can have an interactive experience with virtual shopping,” said Hutton, who came up with the idea.
The virtual store allows people to tailor their donations to their own finances while learning more about the types of foods and baby goods that are needed.
Hutton said cash donations help the organization pay to run the food bank truck and buy perishable foods that can be stored in the fridge or freezer; as well, money goes further when Share buys in bulk.
During the summer food drive, Share hopes to raise $10,000 and collect 10,000 pounds of food.
To help, there will be a Remember the Food Bank pancake breakfast Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Shaughnessy pop-up park in downtown Port Coquitlam and an open house Sunday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., at 2615 Clarke St., Port Moody, where people can learn more about the food bank.
As well, Thrifty Foods at Suter Brook is hosting a Remember the Food Bank Food Drive July 27 and 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a fundraising pub night is planned for Aug. 14 at 5 p.m. at the Townhall Public House in Coquitlam.
More information is available sharesociety.ca/event-calendar.
