It is summer and that means people are busy, and often forget that others need the support of the local food bank all year round.
Food donations tend to drop off in the summer, but need doesn’t, said Lieutenant Samuel Tim of the Yorkton Salvation Army.
As a result, shelves at the local food bank are starting to go empty.
To help restock the shelves, the Salvation Army Food Bank is teaming up with Yorkton Fire Protective Services and two local supermarkets (Real Canadian Superstore and Save-On-Foods) to hold a food drive Friday.
The local fire department will have fire trucks at both locations with a goal to have them filled with food to help “extinguish hunger,” said Tim.
The fire trucks will be on location from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday Aug. 17.
“They’re growing. The numbers keep growing, the need,” said Tim.
In June the food bank had 153 client families, including 26 on Jun. 14. The number hit 164 in July, said Tim.
“We can see the trend is going up,” he said. “The needs are growing.”
Tim said they are always in need of certain types of food items, in particular canned meat and fish, canned vegetables and fruits.
Tim said it is a case of supplying food which allows clients to make a well-balanced meal.
There is also a need for infant formula, cereals, and diapers.
In addition to the immediate need for food, Tim said the food bank will be making a general policy change effective Sept. 1. The change will see the food bank implement an “income threshold amount.”
The income threshold amount is the money left over after all household monthly expenses (rent, utilities, cellphone, transportation, daycare etc.) are subtracted from the monthly household income.
If, after expenses are deducted from the monthly income, there is less than $100 left over per household member, the household will be eligible for assistance, said Tim.
As an example, a household with three members with a total income of $3000 and expenses of $2600 would have $400 left over and would be ineligible for assistance.
A household of two people earning $1200 with expenses of $1100 would have only $100 remaining, and thus be eligible for food.
“It’s determining who is eligible for service, who is really in need,” said Tim.
It is a situation where the food bank has a finite supply of food and the new process will help ensure “those in need of our assistance get it,” said Tim.
Having the numbers will also allow the food bank to refer clients to other services if it appears they could use some help in doing a better job with their household budgeting, said Tim.
“It allows us to focus our resources on people and families who are most in need of our services,” he said.
Anyone wanting to donate to the food bank, or if they have questions regarding service, can call 306-783-4650.
