Edmonton Meals Financial institution’s Heritage Pageant drive falls nicely in need of objective
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“These are the behind-the-closed-doors, worst-case scenarios, that we have to cut back on those key fresh purchases, that it’s just like basic staples, maybe our hampers aren’t as robust.”
A volunteer packs hampers at the Edmonton Food Bank. The annual drive at the Heritage Festival brought in 22,761 kilograms of food but had a goal of 50,000 kilograms. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia, file
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After failing to reach even halfway to its food drive goal this summer, the Edmonton Food Bank is considering dipping into its emergency reserves or a worst-case scenario of potentially having to shrink its hamper sizes.
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The annual drive at the Heritage Festival, which officially wrapped Aug. 5, brought in 22,761 kilograms of food but had a goal of 50,000 kilograms. Monetary donations online raised an additional $35,267, the food bank said in a news release Friday.
Tamisan Bencz-Knight, the food bank’s manager of strategic relations and partnerships, told Postmedia that reducing the amount of food handed out and potentially cutting expensive options like eggs and milk would be the last resort considered to make up the shortfall after tapping into the organization’s emergency reserves.
“These are the behind-the-closed-doors, worst-case scenarios, that we have to cut back on those key fresh purchases, that it’s just like basic staples, maybe our hampers aren’t as robust.”
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Bencz-Knight said as of the end of 2021 the organization had about $3 million in reserve funds but that money does not go as far as people might think particularly given the volume of people it serves.
June 2022 saw the largest number of people getting help through the food bank’s hamper programs in its 41-year history. A total of 34,867 people were helped, a 97% increase over the same time last year.
Bencz-Knight said staff right now are feeling a sense of fear and failure.
“It’s not just fear about what the future will bring but it’s also like, ‘Oh, how did we fail?'” she said.
“And we don’t want to fail because if we fail that means our doors shut and that means other organizations and other people hurt more. So we can’t fail.”
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A volunteer at the Edmonton Food Bank. Photo by supplied
The organization is not at the point where it would have to consider closing its doors, she said. She encouraged anyone who can to donate either through non-perishable food or by making a cash donation online. Those who can’t afford to donate might also consider volunteering to help pack and distribute food, she said.
She said Albertans also need to have larger conversations about poverty and dynamics that impact food bank recipients including affordable housing, mental health supports and substance abuse challenges.
“We have to keep feeding people and I encourage people, if they can give, to please give. But we have to pull up our bootstraps and start talking about what’s causing this.”
Adrianna Scott, CEO of Food Banks Alberta, said most organizations don’t do summer food drives like Edmonton but many are afraid that they could see a similar drop in donations with their major fundraising in the fall.
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“Anecdotally, we’re hearing the same message across the board: usage is up, donations are down,” she said, adding that Food Banks Alberta has seen a 166 per cent increase in the number of member organizations accessing food from them since February .
Scott encouraged people to donate and to check with their local food bank to see what their specific needs are.
“I truly know and believe that food bankers and our partners and our donors will do everything they can they can to get our communities through this,” she said.
“But it is not going to be easy and it is going to cause a lot of pressure on our membership and the people who utilize them.”
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