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December 23, 2022 - 7:30 AM
The number of Central Okanagan residents relying on local food banks this holiday season has increased by a whopping 25 percent.
Central Okanagan Food Bank spokesperson, Ryann Gruza, said demand for its services at this time of year has increased by 500 Christmas hampers compared to last year.
The Central Okanagan Food bank includes Kelowna and West Kelowna. Last year, the two locations handed out 2,700 Christmas hampers. That number has ballooned to 3,200 this holiday season.
Gruza attributes the dramatic increase to a number of things in the wake of the post pandemic era, particularly inflation.
"I think the pandemic was really hard on people especially with cutback hours and potential job layoffs and inflation coming off the heels of that. I think that the economy didn't have time to heal itself," she said.
Grazu said single income families and seniors make up a majority of their clients and that a new trend shows that students are also having to rely on food banks to make ends meet.
"With the increased cost of living, especially gas and groceries — people are having a hard time in meeting their basic needs right now."
On average, the Central Okanagan Food bank helps 5,500 families each year. In 2022, the number was 4,500.
And Gruza estimates the number of families in need is actually higher, but many are reluctant to ask for help.
"I think that there's quite a bit of a stigma about using food banks," she said. "We're just kind of holding on what's next. I think there's a lot of people who are not accessing our services that need it. We're waiting to see what happens. We're doing okay right now but there are uncharted waters ahead, for sure."
The story is similar in Kamloops where demand for food is up year-over-year by about 10 percent.
In 2022, the Kamloops Food Bank handed out the equivalent of $11 Million dollars in food to an estimated 7,000 individuals.
"The need is certainly great in our community," said food bank Executive Director, Bernadette Siracky, who estimates the year-end tally will be closer to $12 million.
She said on average, the Kamloops food bank serves more than 700 families every week with a growing trend toward seniors and students.
Siracky adds that they're also seeing an increase of refugees from Ukraine.
"We have families that have fled the Ukraine that landed in Kamloops that are using our service," Siracky said.
"These folks are coming here without anything. They're fleeing a war-torn country. They are brave, courageous people that don't know the language and culture and we are here to support them. When you're here with absolutely nothing — your bank accounts don't work, your country has literally been blown to pieces — they have nothing to go back to. It's our job. That's humanity."
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