The Dauphin Food Bank has seen an increase in the number of people who use the service.
A hunger count the group did for Food Banks Canada in March found they served 111 families. That breaks down to 107 children and 141 adults.
In 2018 the Dauphin Food Bank gave out 32,374 pounds of food. Robin Gambler, Chair of the group, says they received 26 thousand pounds of donations. Noting the rest of the food had to be purchased.
Gambler says March was a typical month. They often see months with higher usage, noting it depends a lot on when people receive checks. Individuals might need to use the resource depending on how long they have to wait to shop.
There are several reasons for the increase in participation, with housing being one of the biggest.
“A lot of it is people on minimum wage and trying to pay high rent. Single people, people with disabilities, even seniors paying high rent, like if they’re not fortunate enough to get into lower housing, then they have to pay quite a bit,” Gambler said.
They would not be able to do what they do without help from the community. 128 volunteers shared 1780 hours of their time at the Food Bank over the last year.
Gambler notes they do all sorts of important things. “Fundraisers, sorting foods, stocking shelves, picking up bread, portioning, being there at the actual intake, and intake prep.”
According to Food Banks Canada’s HungerCount 2018 there were 1.1 million visits to food banks in March 2018. 35 percent of those who visit food banks across the country are children under the age of 18, yet they make up only 20 percent of Canada’s population.
The food bank is located at Parkland Crossing and runs every second Thursday.
