Inflation putting more pressure on local food banks

By Lethbridge Herald on August 3, 2023.

Volunteers Holly Rondeau and Thi Ho Nguyen sort food Wednesday afternoon at the Lethbridge Food Bank. Herald photo by Steffanie Costigan

Steffanie Costigan – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With the ongoing inflation crisis and food prices rapidly increasing, more  people in southern Alberta are struggling to afford groceries. And the Lethbridge Food Bank is seeing a rapid increase in patrons.

Executive director Mac Nichol said this week that the inflation crisis is pushing more individuals to having to use the food bank.

“Really, we’re seeing a lot of that having to do with what we’ve seen in inflation rates. And that it is just so expensive to go to the grocery store that’s pushing more and more clients into our service,” said Nichol.

Nichol noted within a year, the food bank has seen a 150 per cent increase in the number of families relying on it. 

He added that increasing food prices are having an impact on the food bank’s budget.

“The food is also costing more for us to purchase. It’s more expensive for more foods that we’re getting. So it really starts to put a drain on our program, and we’re really starting to see that the cost of our foods going up. 

“We’ve already gone through our food budget for the year and it’s now just starting August. So, we’re getting a little worried that way. We’re well planned. . . but it is getting a little bit more tense,” he said.

“From the food bank’s perspective, this gets very difficult for us. When food costs go up, we kind of get pinched three times on it. Food costs go up, which means we get more clients.” 

The food bank is a tool to help families and individuals with groceries in times of need. 

Nichol said “people can just come to the food bank, there’s no requirements or no appointments necessary for individuals and families to help mitigate that.”

Nichol has tips to help families in tough times shop more strategically. “Buying in bulk, meal planning, and really trying to make sure that you’re purchasing foods that you will use the entirety of, so when you’re buying meats, using large cuts and cutting them down, and things like that go a long way.”

Nichol empathizes with individuals struggling to buy groceries and says the drastic price increases is putting a heavy strain on families and people who would normally be able to manage.

“The fact that going to the grocery store costs so much more than it did even a year ago is really tough for people on tight budgets and fixed incomes. So, I think that a lot of clients that would normally have been doing fine and even been OK with a bit of a change are finding these drastic changes at the grocery store to be too much to handle.”

Food banks have been an extremely useful tool in poverty reduction, said Nichol noting the statistics.

“We found that food banks are an extremely important part of poverty reduction. Over 80 per cent of families and individuals that come out of poverty have used a food bank once, at least. And because of that, we find that we’re here to help aid in other resources, that food can give you the first steps in trying to take control of sometimes what feels like a losing scenario.”

Nichol shared the excitement individuals experience when they are able to graduate from the food bank program and pull themselves into a more stable state.

“We’ve seen a lot of our clients that have moved on and graduated from our program, celebrating the fact that we helped support them but never took over, so that there was a lot of self-motivation.”

Comments are closed.