The need for food banks spiked drastically in 2009 and has hovered at record levels ever since. Food Banks Canada says that’s unacceptable [image: food banks canada]

Over 100,000 British Columbians were assisted by food banks last March 2015, an increase of nearly 3 per cent over the previous year. Over 30 per cent of those receiving food bank assistance in B.C. were children. The stats were released November 17, 2015 by Food Banks Canada in their HungerCount 2015 report.

Continued food bank use driven by low incomes

The 2015 report shows that 852,137 people across Canada – 305,366 of them children – accessed a food bank in March this year. Food bank use is 1.3% higher than in 2014, and a troubling 26% higher than in 2008, when the economic downturn started. This means that 175,000 more people each month are seeking assistance, compared to 2008.

In the short-term, people turn to food banks for diverse reasons – layoffs, a sudden illness, a rent increase that eats into a family’s food budget. The underlying issue that has kept food bank use so high for so long is the fact that millions of Canadians are trying to make ends meet with incomes that fall far below what is needed to afford the basic cost of living. — Katharine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada

HungerCount was initiated in 1989, and is the only annual national research study of food banks and other food programs in Canada. Since 1997, data for the study have been collected every March. The information provided by the survey is invaluable, forming the basis of many Food Banks Canada activities throughout the year.

Policy recommendations

The HungerCount 2015 report makes policy recommendations that will increase people’s capacity to succeed in the labour market, and that will increase supports for people who are unable to work. These include: Investing in affordable housing; Helping Canadians get the skills they need for the well-paying jobs of today; and Increasing northern Canadians’ access to traditional and store-bought foods, to address the extremely high levels of food insecurity in the north.

The solution isn’t more food bank drives or donations to charity. We have to reduce the need for food banks. Economic growth alone is clearly not having a measurable effect, as demonstrated by increasing food bank use post-recession despite real economic growth. The key lever we have is public policy. — Iglika Ivanova, at Rabble.ca

Nanaimo Hamperville program is in high gear

Nanaimo’s annual Hamperville program, a partnership between Loaves and Fishes Food Bank and the Salvation Army, distributes Christmas hampers in the Nanaimo area. Hamperville organizers gather food and cash donations and distribute what has been contributed to the less fortunate of the community at Christmas time.

This year’s goal is to collect 55,000 kilograms of food. Items that are particularly needed include canned fish, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and pasta sauce, and canned beans. Organizers ask that donations be made before December 22nd.

Peter Sinclair in the CHLY studio for our People First Radio broadcast on November 26, 2015.

We speak with Peter Sinclair, executive director of Nanaimo’s Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank.

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audio | @nanaimofoodbank volunteers, food needed #nanaimo #hampervillenanaimo #hungercount https://t.co/dTzQOcp5TR pic.twitter.com/kwx4YVLeaI

— People First Radio (@peoplefirstrad) November 27, 2015