OKOTOKS - Last year’s record-breaking numbers at the Okotoks Food Bank have nothing on 2023.
The surge in usage in 2022, which saw a tripling in visits over the previous year, has only intensified during the first seven months of this year, taxing the food bank’s ability to keep pace.
Director Pamela McLean said the Help Yourself Shelf Program, which allows clients to fill a basket or bag up to four times per week, has seen a 196 per cent increase in visits from January to July when compared to the same period last year.
“It was starting to get crazy busy last year with the cost of food rising, but this is a whole other level,” said McLean.
The program served 15,000 people over the first seven months of 2022, a figure that has jumped to 43,000 this year, which is already well above the 35,000 total for the entirety of last year.
Increased demand has put a strain on the food bank’s inventory at a time when donations are down slightly.
“I'm used to our shelves in the warehouse looking a bit skimpy come August but never like this,” McLean said. “So far we have been able to meet the need, but it’s bare bones, it’s nothing excessive, no niceties.”
She said the food bank is buying staples like peanut butter, tuna, soup and Kraft Dinner for the first time as donations haven’t kept pace with demand.
“It’s not a substantial drop, certainly not enough to explain the shelves (being depleted)," she said. "It’s the numbers. As soon as the food comes in, the food goes out.”
McLean said the Help Yourself program is unique in that clients don’t have to live in Okotoks to qualify, like they do for the hamper program, which has only seen a six per cent increase so far in 2023.
She said Help Yourself serves upwards of 100 families each day the program operates as clients come from throughout the region, often arriving an hour or two early to line up outside.
“We’re starting to get questions that maybe you shouldn’t allow families to come every day,” McLean said. “My feeling is if they’re here every day, they must need it. If you’re lined up, we assume you have a need.
“You will know we are desperate for food if you hear we’ve restricted access to Help Yourself to once or twice a week, but right now we’re kind of holding our own.”
McLean is counting on a big boost to inventory levels late next month when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints conducts its annual community food drive. She’s hoping locals will be generous and the drive will collect at least 30,000 pounds of food, up from approximately 27,000 pounds last year, to help the food bank deal with an always busy fall season.
“If you can put two bags out, please put two bags out versus the usual one,” she said.
McLean said there are all kinds of reasons for an increase in food bank usage, which is being seen across the province, fueled most recently by inflationary pressures on household budgets. She said this is the first year she’s had to buy gas cards to give to clients.
“People are so desperate they don’t even have enough money to drive here,” she said. “They have to be able to get here to get the food."