Colchester responds to food bank’s challenges
TRURO – The past two years have been very trying for the Colchester Food Bank, but as is usually the case during a crisis, the community has continued to respond the Trurobased food bank has seen
“There has been a steady increase since the beginning of the year,” board chair Vera Faye Smith said. “There was an end to the COVID benefits, and since Christmas there has been a steady rise in the price of food. Now, instead of worrying about food, they’re worrying about fuel. We are seeing new visitors almost every day.”
Smith said statistics from Feed Nova Scotia are showing food bank use across Nova Scotia is up seven per cent since January, “and I think we’re seeing those numbers as well.”
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, including masking and social distancing, the food bank has managed to stay open throughout the last 24 months. Smith said following the COVID protocols and maintaining a consistent work bubble have enabled the organization to continue serving its clients.
“We have an amazing core group of volunteers,” Smith said. “They have continued to come every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since March 2020.”
The group opened up to more volunteers last November and December, but with the Omicron variant late last fall, they decided the reduce the number of volunteers to their core group. Now that restrictions have been lifted
with the end of the province’s state of emergency, they are slowly letting more clients in the building and welcoming more volunteers.
Smith said the organization has been supported throughout the pandemic by a group of special angels. Members of the Immanuel Baptist Church worked during the pandemic to make deliveries on Wednesdays and Fridays.
“Folks with mobility issues, no transportation and, most recently, those in isolation due to Omicron, have been very thankful for this service,” she said. “The Knights of Columbus and other agencies have also been very helpful assisting us in this worthwhile effort.”
As well, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church,
through its Kane’s Kitchen, has been donating 50 meals a week to the food bank to distribute to its clients. These meals include a main course, a roll and dessert.
Smith said the food bank has consistently been supported financially by the community, something that was very important during the COVID-19 pandemic with support for its two fall fundraisers last year being described as amazing.
“Even before the pandemic we had excellent partnerships and had tremendous support from the community,” executive director Darlene De Adder said. “Things normally go down at the first of the year, but people have been very consistent in supporting us.”
The shelter present serves 45 to 50 households each serving day. That’s a 140 to 150 households each week and people come from throughout Colchester County.
“We are noticing a lot of new families coming through the doors,” De Adder said. “We’re noticing it almost every day. There are a lot of families out there who are really struggling to make ends meet. People lost their jobs during COVID and they’ve seen the cost of the important things, like food, heat and gas, go up and up.
“People are seeing what’s going on in Ukraine and we still have COVID and we’re seeing the price of gas going up. It’s only going to get worse. The next few months are going to be very interesting in how it affects people.”
In addition, several federal grants to alleviate food insecurity have come through Food Banks Canada.
“These grants have allowed us to supplement our regular orders with such things as school snack bags, diabetic foods, gluten-free items and diapers and wipes,” Smith said. “All of these are costly and the clients in need of these things are so appreciative that we have been able to assist with these needs the last two years.”
There are several continuing needs the food bank’s clients have, including reusable shopping bags, cereal, canned fruit, canned milk and canned meat.
North Shore clothing bank in Tatamagouche is un by a board member and remained open throughout the pandemic, with only two brief closures. As well, the food bank has received funding to implement programs through its sharing kitchen.
Its facilitator, Ashley Swan, has been working on a grant from Community Foundations of Canada to create programs and services to respond to the ongoing needs arising from the pandemic.
The Healthy Communities Initiative identified families throughout Colchester County who are experiencing food insecurity. De Adder said more than 700 meal kits have been distributed the last few months.
Each kit has all the ingredients and recipes necessary to prepare a full family-style meal.
“Every step toward alleviating food insecurity is a success story,” De Adder said.