CANORA -In these difficult times of rising costs for just about everything, it could be any one of us who has to turn to the food bank for support, especially during the Christmas season when there are a variety of different expenses.
Pastor Mavis Watson, volunteer administrator at Filling the Gap Food Bank in Canora, said the recent support from the Canora Composite School food drive was welcome, as well as the commitment from the Town of Canora to accept donations for Filling the Gap during the Winter Lights Festival.
“We really appreciate the help, but we need money right now,” said Watson. “Christmas is coming. Cash is the main need, it allows us to buy the things we need for the Christmas hampers such as oranges, ham, turkey, chicken, potatoes and other fresh vegetables, salad, buns, dressing, and ingredients for making dessert.”
Watson said this is one of the busiest times of the year at the food bank.
“We tend to get more people coming in who are in need of help compared to other times of the year. They spend money on gifts and such, and they usually do more travelling this time of year so they have to buy gas. Sometimes there’s not enough left to buy food.”
Filling the Gap Food Bank operations are overseen by the Canora Ministerial Association.
All applicants for Christmas hampers are carefully screened, and asked for the details of their circumstances.
“We remind all of our applicants that the Christmas hamper is just for them, not their relatives,” said Watson, who added that receiving a hamper can make a world of difference to a needy family.
“It means everything, it allows them to maybe purchase gifts, which otherwise would have been impossible. For example, in one family that has received our support, the dad is working and the mom has cancer. The have two adult children with serious medical needs, so they really need our help. When the father comes in, we see he has holes in is jeans and poor footwear – he can’t even afford proper work boots.”
Watson said she gets a number of calls from people who can’t afford the gas to drive to where they are employed.
“It’s concerning that many Canora people can’t get local jobs, and yet people from other communities drive to Canora for their jobs,” said Watson. “Why are we not employing people in our community in our businesses, and then we have people coming to the food bank because they can’t get a job?”
The outside temperature was -22°C when Watson spoke with Canora Courier, a reminder that cold weather adds yet another layer of stress and potential added expenses for needy residents.
She estimates the cost of filling a Christmas hamper at around $120 to $150, and like almost everything else, that has been going up.
The increased pressure on the food bank is not only happening in Canora, but from coast to coast across Canada.
The latest census indicates that there are right around 40 million people in Canada. In March 2024, there were over 2 million visits to food banks in Canada, the highest number in history. This represents a six per cent increase compared to 2023, and a 90 per cent increase compared to 2019, according to foodbankscanada.ca.
The website stats that 33 per cent of food banks users in Canada are children, which represents nearly 700,000 visits, while 7.7 per cent of food banks clients are seniors, up from 6.8 per cent in 2019. A total of 18 per cent of those accessing food banks in Canada are employed.
Those Canadians who did access a food bank said their need had become too great for them to manage alone and/or there was nowhere else to turn. So, for every new person who seeks the support of a food bank, many more are suffering and strategizing to make it through the month with too little, concluded the foodbanks.ca information.
The cutoff date for receiving requests for Christmas hampers in Canora is Dec. 15
”Christmas hampers will be received the week of Dec. 16-20, said Watson. “After that, the Food Bank will be closed for Christmas until Jan. 2.”
Anyone interested in volunteering or in making a donation is encouraged to phone Pastor Mavis Watson at 306-563-5315, or a cheque can be mailed to: Filling the Gap Food Bank Canora, PO Box 957, Canora, SK, S0A 0L0.
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