ST. PAUL – The St. Paul and District Food Bank is seeing increased demand this year.
Larry Lambert, board chairman of the food bank, says the number of people seeking aid has increased this year by at least 100 people. The food bank budgeted $50,000 this year, and “We’re on track to spend that for 2023,” says Lambert.
The food bank is funded through a few sources, including $15,000 coming from cash donation from the community in December 2022, which was matched by the Government of Alberta, as well as a $15,000 food bank grant received earlier this year. The grants were part of the November 2022 provincial announcement promising $20 million over two years to help food banks and food security organizations in the province.
As previously reported, the Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul region will receive $200,000 of that funding.
But with more than three months left in the year, Lambert says the current budget “is almost gone now.” The food bank averaged spending $4,000 a month on food, he explains.
When asked if the food bank can continue operating due to increased costs and funding drying up, Lambert says it’s thanks to community support that the food bank can continue on.
“The community has been so generous” he says, commending the volunteers who help keep the operation going. “There’s no wages anywhere.”
He also thanked the community and local businesses like Co-op and Sobeys for their ongoing support and donations. Schools often help collect much-needed food items around the fall and winter season, and businesses often donate cash, which directly goes to the purchase of food items.
He also noted the generosity of the youth. “We’ve had kids who have a birthday party and don’t want any presents, but donated money to the good bank,” says Lambert.
The Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre also continues to provide space for the food bank at no cost, he says. “We don’t pay any power bills... everything we have goes into food.”
Without this community support, the food bank would not operate, says Lambert.
But what would help further that cause would be if food banks had sustained government support that they could depend on. All the food banks in the province need help, says Lambert.
The community and the businesspeople in the Town of St. Paul are having as much difficulty as everybody else, adds Lambert. “They’re not making the millions that everybody thinks they are. If we had to pay $25,000 for rent of space... pay bills... we wouldn’t be able to operate.”
He reiterated that every time somebody comes in to make a cash donation, the money goes straight to the purchase of food. This unity of support is one of the reasons, “We’re able to operate as well as we do.”
People wanting to donate to the St. Paul Food Bank can head to the food bank, located just behind the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre’s main entrance.
