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St. Albert Food Bank sets a table for 1,000 hungry families

Executive director hopes annual drive brings in even better fare as stores of food dwindle

Imagine your extended family of 1,000 has come over for supper and they’re all hungry. Now imagine that this city is your extended family and each of those hungry relatives is itself an individual family with parents and children of their own.

That’s what it’s like for the St. Albert Food Bank. The organization recently announced it now has more than 1,000 families who are registered to receive its services and support.

“We’re exceptionally busy,” said Suzan Krecsy, executive director for the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village, correcting the figure to 1,024 families on file.

“Both in the Community Village and in the food bank, we're noticing a trend of people who haven't been coming in for a while and we're having to reactivate their files. After 18 months, two years, one was 13 years. People are saying that it's underemployment. A lot of seasonal jobs and a lot of jobs are weather dependent. This past summer was a killer for that.”

In July of last year, that number was 893. To increase more than 100 families on file in a year is one thing but that doesn’t fully offer a glimpse into the monthly in and out of food hampers.

In 2018, the food bank offered 3,414 hampers. The year before that, it was 2,842 hampers. Krecsy said this upward trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, let alone reversing. The numbers have never been this high for the organization either, she admitted, and the situation is much the same for a lot of other food banks too.

“We're averaging anywhere between about 280 to 325 families every month. We don't set up the warehouse to make it look empty. No, we don't. It really is empty. We're really bare ... really, really bare.”

That’s why the food drive comes at such a crucial time for the organization. As families settle back into September and the regular school routine leading into fall and winter, demand increases and supplies dwindle.

The annual event typically brings in more than 27,000 kilograms (60,000 lbs.) in donations. Krecsy has her fingers crossed that this year is as good or better.

“When you're looking at 42,000 lbs. going out in a month ... it puts us ahead of the game, so then after that we're not trying to do catch up. We're just moving ahead."

With such an output, the local agency has seen its stores of non-perishable food items go down and down and down. Thankfully, it has received some wonderful support from local independent gardeners (through the St. Albert Farmers’ Market) as well as St. Albert's Costco and Walmart locations that have offered boosts in fresh produce and meat products as well. Even as supplies of non-perishable foods declined, these other donations have kept people fed.

"We have been able to give more meat and more produce than we have ever done for as long as I've been here. Our hamper weights have not gone down. We're pretty much out of non-perishables," she continued, a hint of hope for the upcoming food drive in her voice.

The annual Food Drive takes place this Saturday, Sept. 21. Please put your grocery bags out on your doorstep by noon that day. Typical high demand food items include peanut butter, powdered milk, canned fruits or vegetables, canned fish, canned meat, and rice, as well as baby formula (especially Enfamil A+) and even diapers.

If your bag doesn't get collected, please call the food bank at 780-459-0599. You can also drop it off at the food bank itself at #30, 50 Bellerose Dr. or at any grocery store or fire hall.

For more details on the food drive event, including a list of high demand food and other items, please visit www.stalbertfoodbankandcommunityvillage.com.


Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ecology and Environment Reporter at the Fitzhugh Newspaper since July 2022 under Local Journalism Initiative funding provided by News Media Canada.
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