Saskatoon free food programs jeopardized by inflation
With rising inflation across the country programs that provide free food in Saskatoon are contending with unprecedented need.
At the Friendship Inn they’re used to serving breakfast and lunch to a thousand people a day.
Lately, it’s even more.
“Now our numbers have increased. Really increased,” said Sandra Kary, Executive Director of the Friendship Inn told CTV News.
They’re seeing about five hundred more people each day, which they attribute to a variety of factors.
“Housing security or income security,” Kary said. “If you’re trying to pay bills and stabilize housing, food is the first thing that you’re going to try and adapt with so that’s why we get more people.”
The reality that fundraising support may dry up because of the state of the economy weighs heavily on their minds.
“Hey, we still need help. We still need support and maybe we have to have a broader reach to more donors to actually meet our targets if in fact those donors have to tighten those belts too,” she says.
There’s a similar situation at The Saskatoon Foodbank and Learning Centre. This is not the usual time of year when they have a donation drive, but this year the need is so great.
“The price of gas; the price of food is hitting people hard, and we’re no exception here and we’re seeing the impact” said Deborah Hamp, Director of Operations at the Food Bank and Learning Centre.
“We’re seeing over 20,000 people a month,” she said. “The need is really urgent. People are really struggling and it’s really difficult to keep up with the demand,” she said.Hamp has seen many changes over her 12 years with the Food Bank, but this year is different.
“The impact of inflation is really concerning,” she said.
Last year they saw about 13,000 people coming in each month.
This year that has jumped.
“We’re seeing over 20,000 people a month,” she said. “The need is really urgent. People are really struggling and it’s really difficult to keep up with the demand,” she said.
The good harvest helped with fresh produce donations this year, says Hamp, but they are uncertain if it will be enough.
“The sheer number, the sheer volume that makes it really difficult to keep up with the demand on a daily basis.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.