Moose Jaw Not Immune From Food Security Problems - Inflation Having A Massive Impact
By Robert Thomas
“A family making between $30,000 and $50,000 a year cannot afford to live now,” Jason Moore development manager for the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank.
One in five, or approximately seven million Canadians, reported going hungry from March 2020 to March 2022.
Twenty-three percent of Canadians reported eating less than they thought they should have because they cannot afford food. A figure which doubled for Canadians earning less than $50,000 annually.
These are just two of the statistics found in a survey commissioned by Food Banks Canada.
The automated telephone poll asked 4,009 Canadians questions about their food security from February 25th to March 2nd. According to Mainstreet Research the poll is accurate to within plus or minus 1.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
As far as accuracy goes the poll is spot on for Moose Jaw according to the local Food Bank.
“Our numbers are certainly rising about 20 percent (higher) so far this year from last year. We are trying to figure out what is going on,” Jason Moore development manager with the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank said, adding “the increase in food costs, gas those have made a pretty big impact on people.”
Although Moore has yet to read the poll he said when the statistical findings were read to him the findings are the same in Moose Jaw.
“That (poll) keeps in line with our numbers. We are seeing a 20 percent increase in people asking for help.”
People are heading to the local food bank’s doors in larger numbers with first the pandemic and now inflation kicking in.
The number of people accessing the local food bank is increasing. At the present time the Food Bank assists over 900 clients a month. Last year the number was just over 700 people helped a month.
“People who were getting by now with the inflation are not able to and so we are seeing a large number of working families and singles reaching out and saying I just cannot do it. I either do not pay the bills, I shut the heat off, or something, or I go hungry.”
With an increasing number of people coming through the Food Bank’s doors looking for help many are arriving their for the first time.
“Every week we have at least seven to ten new sign-ups as well as people who haven’t been here for several years returning,” Moore said.
Many of the Food Bank’s clients are people on assistance, those who cannot work as well as others on fixed incomes such as seniors but also people working full-time who cannot make ends meet.
“A family making between $30,000 and $50,000 a year cannot afford to live now. They need extra income or help from some other source.”
One of the most heartbreaking things the Food Bank deals with is the number of families with children who rely upon them for help. Presently almost half of the people receiving help from the Food Bank are children.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow because we want to do what we can to help everybody but right now with the cost of things we are looking at cutbacks. It is heart breaking when you are cutting back.”
Moore thought things may well be tougher for many Moose Jaw children when school is out for the summer.
“The parents are going to have an extra bill of daycare over the summer for many of these families. Most of the community schools…provide a breakfast and lunch program so the kids are at least getting fed but when school is out what is going to happen?”
The cost of rent is a major concern for many who use the Food Bank’s services. In Mainstreet Research’s poll 61 percent of survey respondents said the rising cost of rent impacted their food security.
“In Moose Jaw it is just as bad as all of the other places. And we see that when we do intakes with people. Their rent is high and they are just struggling to pay rent and all of the other bills,” Moore said.
Inflation is a major factor for many people’s food security. According to a Statistics Canada report the average price of food rose
According to Statistics Canada the price of food in Saskatchewan rose 9.3 percent from April 2021 to April 2022.
Moore said inflation has not only hit people’s ability to afford food but also the nutritional qualities in the food they are buying.
Inflation though has hit harder with the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank having to make some hard choices and removing fresh foods (perishables) and replacing them with non-perishables in hampers.
“We have just starting doing some re-vamping of what is going into our hampers because we want to keep it nutritious but we also want to provide enough for each of the people we serve so we looked at where do we cut costs? And of course the most expensive thing is fresh food and of course that is typically the more nutritious food.”
With inflation hitting food prices the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank has discontinued buying fresh produce for hampers as they cannot afford it - MJ Independent photo
The move has seen the Food Bank discontinuing including buying fresh perishable food and going back to distributing non-perishable items in their hampers.
Eating healthy is fast becoming even more expensive. Some of the examples of rising food prices in Saskatchewan are:
The price of fresh fruit (often pointed out to be a major part of a healthy diet along with fresh vegetables) rose 11.4 percent from April 2021 to April 2022 while fresh vegetables also rose 6.8 percent over the same time period.
The price of meat on average rose 14.1 percent from April 2021 to April 2022 while beef rose a whopping 17 percent over the same time period.
Dairy products have not been immune to inflationary price hikes with the average percentage increase from April 2021 to April 2022 being 7.2 percent. The largest percentage increase in this category year over year was butter at 20.8 percent.
Edible oils and fats rose the largest percentage-wise in Saskatchewan rising 25.6 percent from April 2021 to April 2022. The rise in this product are attributed to the on-going Russia - Ukraine conflict as Ukraine is a major exporter of sunflower seeds and canola used in the production of edible oils.
Moore said though the Food Bank in Moose Jaw is fortunate because they do receive a lot of fresh produce. Produce comes from the Mosaic Community Garden as well as people who donate from their personal gardens.
Most of the produce is not available until the end of the summer but at the same time Mosaic Community Garden does provide produce throughout the summer and the garden project is bigger this year.
Additionally the Food Bank is looking at federal grants to allow them to grow fresh produce on-site as well to help feed the growing demand.
“It is just to help offset the cost because we cannot afford it anymore.”
The rapidly rising cost of gasoline - averaging 195.9/litre at the writing of this article and set to go higher - has also impacted many people’s budgets and a contributing factor that they turn to the Food Bank for help.
“We have had comments, especially from working families they cannot afford fuel,” he said.
Moore told the story about one single mom who came to the Food Bank for help because her monthly fuel costs had doubled from $450 per month to $700 per month. The single mom cannot cut back as she is driving to Regina to attend schooling.
“She is in a place as a single mom does she drop out of school and work for minimum (wage) again or what does she do?…that has got to be hard on a single mom who is trying to better her situation so she can take care of her family.
Food Banks Canada in a statement said the Summer of 2022 is set to be one of the most difficult for food banks across the country and Moose Jaw is no exception.
Moore said at the present time due to the demand and the lack of food drives the local Food Bank is itself a victim of inflation and the pandemic combined. The situation has become critical and the Food Bank has been forced to cutback just at the time people need them the most.
Rising food costs have shoppers searching for bargains - MJ Independent photo
Inflation is not the only thing affecting the local Food Bank but the loss of local food drives have had an impact.
“Because of the pandemic food banks struggled as well. A lot of them across the country weren’t able to hold their food drives. It just wasn’t safe,” he said, adding “that was our experience the last two years in Moose Jaw. We didn’t have the annual drive which typically brings us 60,000 pounds of food.”
Although the food drive was turned into a monetary drive and raised $60,000 but with inflation the dollar amount for food went up.
“The difference is a pound of food on average costs $3.25 today so the 60,000 pounds of food was more like $180,000…our cupboards are starting to look bare.”
Moore said the Food Bank has been fortunate enough to reach out to the federal government through Food Banks Canada and receive grants to buy supplies.
“The average cost of a hamper, just one hamper, for a single person is about $50. If you times that by the 900 people we are serving a month so that is a pretty big schwack of money we need to raise each month just to keep the doors open.”
Local grocery stores have been providing the Food Bank with food that is still good to eat but is approaching an expiry date but the amount has decreased.
“We have an awesome rescue food program in the city here that helps out a lot. It provides us with at least 75 percent of the fresh produce that goes into our hampers. But as the prices go up groceries stores are carrying less and they are even holding onto it a little bit longer…so we are seeing a little bit less of that fresh stuff coming in from the grocery stores.”
Moore said the main factor for many relying upon the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank for assistance is the continued support of the community.
The Food Bank is set to kickoff a summer fundraising campaign in July called End Hunger in order to re-stock their shelves and continue to help those coming to their doors.
“This is going to be one of our largest campaigns ran in the summer because we are just in a desperate situation. We need the communities support now. Moose Jaw has always stepped up in the past and been more than generous,” he said.
“I am interested in seeing what will happen because people who aren’t using our food bank are struggling with the rising cost of gas and groceries. So I wonder what we will see as far as community support when we run our campaign will people be able to give in the same way as they did before?”
People who want to help out may donate on-line at mjfoodbank.org or mail a cheque to the Food Bank the address is: 270 Fairford St W Moose Jaw, SK. S6H 1V6.
During regular hours - 9 am to 2 pm - the loading dock at the Food Bank (270 Fairford Street West) - is open and people may stop in to make food donations. After hours non-perishable food may be donated in bins located in Safeway, Co-op and Superstore.
Food Banks Canada is a registered charity which helps affiliated food banks and food agencies that work at the community level to relieve hunger. The group is focused on maximizing collective impact, strengthening local capacity, and reducing the demand for food banks until a day when they are no longer needed.