Hunger matters, and in 2016 it mattered to a LOT of people! It mattered to the hundreds of individuals, organizations and businesses in the Boundary who donated food or funds or who organized events to help the Boundary Community Food Bank keep the rent and utilities paid and freezers and shelves full. It mattered to the more than 40 volunteers who contributed over 4,700 hours of time to assemble hampers, order and/or pick up produce and other purchased food items, register clients, and do all the administrative work necessary to retain the food bank’s status as a registered charity. It mattered most to the recipients of the 2,056 hampers distributed in the past year.
I know some will say that 2,056 isn’t that much for a full year, and compared to what some of the food banks in larger centres distribute, it’s not. But when you break that number down, that’s an average of 171 households, every single month, who can’t afford adequate food. A monthly average of 231 adults and 95 children who use the services of the food bank to try and combat food insecurity. We also know there are others who, for various reasons, don’t use the food bank. Multiply these numbers by all the other food banks in BC and in Canada as a whole and you can see the evidence of a huge problem across our country.
I’ve had several people over the past few years tell me that they don’t believe in food banks. My response is always the same: “I don’t believe that a country as rich as Canada should need food banks.” What I really don’t believe is that there should be children going to bed with empty tummies, or seniors, (14 per cent of the food bank’s adult clients) striving to make ends meet while their income is well below the poverty line.
Among the initiatives that Food Banks Canada has recommended to the federal government this year are: prioritizing the national poverty reduction plan and ensuring everyone has a basic liveable income. Other needs here in the Boundary include the development of affordable housing and increased services for those with addiction or other mental health issues.
None of these are issues that we, as individuals, can change. But if we each do a bit to advocate for those less fortunate, to write our MP or our MLA, to speak out against poverty, to support any or all of the organizations working locally to fight food insecurity, we can make a difference. Hunger matters, and as we start this new year, let us all help to alleviate hunger in our community.
