The Real Canadian Superstore has launched its Holiday Food Drive to support the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank, with the food collected expected to keep the shelves full until summer.
The food drive runs from Dec. 1 to 24 and residents are encouraged to make food or monetary donations to support the initiative. All donations go directly to the community agency to help residents in need.
Statistics show that food banks across Canada have experienced record highs for usage this year, with 1.5 million people visiting a food bank in March alone. In Saskatchewan, there has been an increase in food bank visits of 21 per cent since 2019.
While it has been a challenging time for many people in Moose Jaw, children and seniors have been most adversely affected, while they make up 40 per cent and five per cent of food bank users, respectively.
“It’s absolutely wonderful,” Terri Smith, the food bank’s operations manager, said on Dec. 8 about the return of Superstore’s annual Holiday Food Drive. “This time of the year is when we try to get as many donations — and as many monetary donations — as possible because this carries us through right until next year.”
The organization’s food supply decreases substantially during the spring and summer months, so this initiative provides a positive boost to keep the shelves stocked, she continued.
Shelves are currently full thanks to the Better Together Food Drive in October. That brought in more than 43,000 pounds of food, which will help the organization survive the winter.
This extra food is vitally needed because the food bank’s hampers numbers are climbing back to where they were pre-pandemic, “which is a little scary,” said Smith. Many more people—including homeless residents— required the food bank’s services this year.
“2019 was a very busy year. And then 2020 hit and our numbers dropped 75 per cent because everyone was getting CERB payments,” she continued.
“So it was enough money to sustain where they didn’t need our help. And then once CERB stopped, that’s when I really noticed our numbers really climbing — and they’ve been climbing ever since.”
Data from the food bank shows it distributed 4,834 hampers in 2019. That dropped to 3,067 in 2020 and then jumped to 3,757 last year.
This year, excluding December, the organization has distributed 4,651 hampers.
From 2001 to 2015, the food bank distributed an average of 3,733 hampers, with the lowest year being 3,462 and the highest being 3,926. Numbers jumped into the 4,000 range in 2016.
The food bank needs basic staples, including canned foods — such as pork and beans, soup, vegetables or fruit — and Kraft Dinner, macaroni, rice, cereal, and children-focused items for the Mighty Munchies program that supports kids after school.
“(We’re) just very thankful that Superstore is such great supporters of our food bank,” added Smith. “Moose Jaw is a very supportive and giving community, so I think we’re very fortunate to be where we are.”
Lesslie Ross, store manager of Superstore, said the company enjoys supporting the food bank, while the community is very giving and always supports the business’ fundraising events.
“It’s a little disappointing to hear (about) the (food plight) situation that Moose Jaw is in, but hopefully, we can do what we can to support and help the community with our food bank drives,” he said.
Superstore recently started a program called “Second Harvest” that aims to divert food from the landfill to the food bank, Ross said. He believes that will significantly help the organization.
“(I’m) just really proud of the community here because they really go all out in Moose Jaw,” he added. “The amount of support our food bank drives get is just incredible.”
