Barrhead food bank braces for potential increase in clients

BARRHEAD-Barrhead and District Family and Community Services' (FCSS) food bank has not seen a rise in the number of applications for hampers.

At least not yet.

However, volunteer coordinator Ros Rudd says it is too early to tell what impact the coronavirus pandemic, the closure of businesses and the accompanying layoffs will have.

In 2019, Barrhead’s Food Bank fed 1,827 individuals, 630 of which were children. Currently, between 60 and 70 families regularly use the food bank.

The Town and Country This Week decided to reach out to the food bank to see what the ramifications of the COVID-19 virus are having on not only intake but on donations.

"We know people have been let go, we know that, but with the provincial and federal monetary support programs, we are not sure what is going to happen now."

The provincial government recently announced a one-time emergency support payment of $1,146 for

Alberta residents who experienced a total or significant loss of income as a result of having to self-isolate, or are the sole caregiver of a dependent who is self-isolating or they have no other source of compensation.

The purpose of this payment was to tide people over before federal government programs kick in such as employment insurance (EI).

The federal government, in addition to increasing the Canada Child Care Benefit and GST credits, has also created a Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) — a $2,000 taxable a monthly payment for up to four months.

The federal government also announced introduced and increased the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) which is designed to discourage companies from laying off workers preventing economic activity from grinding to a halt. It is also hoped the subsidy will encourage employers to rehire employees who have been laid off. The subsidy covers up to 75 per cent of employees' wages for three months. Eligible employers who suffer a gross revenue drop of at least 30 per cent in March, April or May in comparison to 2019 will have access to the subsidy.

Rudd noted that although the food bank receives some assistance through the Food Banks of Alberta, they rely totally on the generosity of local churches, businesses and the public.

Food Banks Alberta gives them a monthly list of items that they can select from.

"These are items that are donated by companies that make products, et cetera," she said. "We usually get a lot from them, but that is slowing down because the demand is greater."

Rudd noted they are also looking at other options available through Canada Food Banks, but being a rural community they also are limited by transportation costs.

She added that unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the food bank is no longer able to accept food donations from the public as they don't have the ability to sanitize every item they receive. For the foreseeable future they will only be taking financial donations.

The virus also has changed the clients pick up their hampers because FCSS is restricted to the public.

"When they see the person pull up, the food is wheeled out. The person then loads up their car," Rudd said. "So far it has been working quite well. We serve someone every five minutes."

And while they are running low on some items she said the food bank has enough supplies for the moment.

In the March 24 issue of the Westlock News, it was reported that the Westlock food bank was putting out an urgent call for donations, as they were otherwise in danger of closing.

"Fortunately we have never been in the position where we haven't been able to fill a hamper," Rudd said. "Down the line, it might be that you get what we get, but the people, businesses and churches in Barrhead have always been so generous I don't think it will ever get to that point."

For those needing to access the food bank services, it is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For those people wishing to access food bank programming, they will need a piece of identification showing that they are a resident of the area and the Alberta Health Care Cards of any dependents, as well as a record of income. This is a statistic collected by Food Banks of Canada to determine who is accessing food banks in a particular region.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com

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