Food banks adjust their approach and get ready for a surge
Local food banks are modifying their methods to keep a steady and safe food supply to those who need it while adjusting to public health guidelines to limit the spread of COVID -19.
A recent surge in donations to the Ottawa Food Bank — spurred in part by a social media campaign that saw more than $300,000 raised in a 48-hour span — has helped keep emergency cupboards stocked as they prepare for an anticipated surge in need.
Partners like the Gloucester Emergency Food Cupboard are filling baskets of food by having families fill out a shopping checklist as they wait outside the building, while staff and volunteers select each item from the distribution centre inside.
“It’s very much a shopping model where people can choose out of the major food groups, and it’s almost like a points system where, for example, a card for a family of four may have a choice of four fruits and five vegetable choices, fresh or in cans ... we always have a selection of frozen chicken, frozen beef and fish, whatever their needs may be, whether it’s vegetarian or Halal. And we’ve also increased the amount of food we’ve been giving people to encourage them to stay home and not have to make as many trips, either here or to the grocery store,” said executive director Erin O’ Manique.
“We haven’t changed what we’re giving out. We’re just giving out more.”
Staff are now including some extras like soap in each order, along with some physical distancing guidelines from Ottawa Public Health written in English, French and Arabic.
While staff and volunteers work inside to fill orders, O’Manique greets clients and distributes the cards for them to fill out as they wait.
“We’ve been doing it this way almost three weeks, I’ve seen everybody personally who’s come through here and I’m healthy so far,” she said. “We can manage the process with fewer people, and we’re just washing the place like crazy.”
To eliminate lineups, those who live nearby are asked to wait at home and come back when their order is ready; if someone arrives in their car, they’re asked to wait in their car.
O’Manique said numbers dipped at the Gloucester cupboard following the province’s declaration of a state of emergency, but demand since then has been rising steadily.
“I expect once the reality hits and people still have to buy groceries after paying rent on the first of the month, I expect it will get busier.”