More provincial funding earmarked for N.B.’s Food Depot Alimentaire as demand continues to rise

With the rising cost of living, the Food Depot Alimentaire in New Brunswick has seen an uptick in the number of people who are using their services.

In fact, executive director Stephane Sirois says in just the two years he’s been with the Food Depot, the demand has more than doubled.

“In 2023 compared to 2022, we saw 17 per cent more meals served in community kitchens, 35 per cent more visits and in those visits there was 42 per cent more people served, so that means there’s bigger families, more families coming into food banks to get some help,” said Sirois.

He says it’s a trend that’s being seen across the country.

“It’s not just New Brunswick, so we’re getting to a point where the food banks, community kitchens, are over capacity, they’re stretched to their limit, so it is becoming a major concern that we won’t be able to keep sustaining this,” he said.

On Monday morning, the provincial government announced additional financial assistance as the increased demand is expected to continue through 2024.

“We did contribute $1 million before Christmas because we knew the Christmas rush would be heavy and there will be another $1 million in the month of March coming out to the food bank,” said Health Minister Bruce Fitch. “We know the need for food banks and community kitchens is great and it’s true in the province, across the country, it’s been a difficult few years for those that struggle with hunger and food insecurity.”

New Brunswick Health Minister Bruce Fitch is pictured. (Alana Pickrell/CTV News Atlantic)

Sirois says the Food Depot Alimentaire receives donations from the province, the private sector, the community, Food Banks Canada and their very successful weekly 50/50 draw.

He says this year the Food Depot is projecting a purchasing budget of $3.5M million and the funding announced from the province on Monday will help “top up” all the donations.

“This allows us to purchase fresh food,” he said. “We get a lot of food donated, but we don’t control what comes in. What we usually get is non-perishable, dried goods, canned goods, so this allows us to purchase the meats, fruits, fish, vegetables, fresh stuff, eggs, that food banks and community kitchens need.”

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