More people are relying on food banks, but support is lacking, says organizer - Action News
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More people are relying on food banks, but support is lacking, says organizer

Tina Bishop, general manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, says more people than ever are relying on food banks, but donations have decreased. People are already starting to call about Christmas food hampers.

People already calling about Christmas hampers, says Tina Bishop of the Community Food Sharing Association

Woman with short blonde hair standing next to SUV with words Community Food Sharing Association on its side. There is a tree behind here that's leaves are green but it's also turning yellow and orange.
Tina Bishop, general manager of the Community Food Sharing Association, says more people than ever are turning to food banks, but donations are also down. (Elizabeth Whitten/CBC)

More people than ever are relying on food banks to put food on the table, saysone organizer, and the recent increase in demand is far beyond anything she has imagined.

Tina Bishop, general manager of the Community Food Sharing Association,saysit's getting harder to meet people's needs and the provincial government should do more to help.

"The demand on food banks has been increasing since, really, the pandemic. But we continue to see significant increases," Bishop told CBC News on Monday.

"I'm hearing from food banks right across the province that their numbers are up."

Bishop said people are being squeezed bythe cost of living.To cover risingexpenses, she said, people are dipping into their food budget and that'sleaving them short on food.

"We're having a lot of people have to come now to the food banks that never, ever had to before," said Bishop.

But while demand is up, donations are down.

"There were times that we would have people just drop by our office and bring food in probably once a month and things like that," Bishop said."That's not happening anymore."

Some people are still working from home in the post-pandemic world, meaning businesses aren't hosting as many food drives as theywould have, and food banks are losing out on that benefit, she added.

Cans of food on a food shelf at a food bank.
Food banks are busy over the holidays, and Bishop says people are already beginning to reach out about Christmas food hampers. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)

Bishop said the demographic of the people who are now relying on food banks has changed.She said there are more working families who aren't able to make ends meet at the end of the month.

In addition, she said, many are seniors who are on a fixed income.

Change needed

Bishop said there are solutions to tackling food insecurity, and pointed toprograms that were introducedas part of the provincial poverty reduction plan which includedexpanding the prenatal-early childhood nutrition supplement, child benefit paymentincreases and more funding to school lunch programs.

One thing she'd like to see is a boost toincome support for older people.

"We need to look at the whole income support program. You know, it needs to be revamped," said Bishop.

She added the provincial government needs to review those programs so people aren't just scraping by.

The provincial government is currently reviewing income support and Children, Seniors and Social Development Minister Paul Pike recently announced that as part of the ongoing review, the death benefit had more than doubledso people could apply forup to $5,000.

Christmas ahead

While the Christmas season is months away, Bishop said, her organizationisalready getting calls from people looking to register for Christmas food hampers.

"It's certainly going to be very difficult," she said.

"We're trying to get the donations in so we can make sure that everybody has a meal on the table for Christmas."

She said they accept non-perishable food items and would happily accept donated foods like turkeys, vegetables, personal care items, as well as household items such as toilet paper, paper towels and cleaners.

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With files from The St. Johns Morning Show