'We're doing everything we can': Fredericton food bank demand up 40 per cent

Fredericton’s Greener Village is seeing more people seeking its help than ever before. The food bank and community centre says demand for its services went up 40 per cent in May this year, compared to May 2021.

Executive director Alex Boyd says they’re seeing families they’ve never seen before.

“That equates to about 400 more hampers out the door than May of last year. The financial equivalent is about $60,000 worth of resources extra that went out in May compared to May of last year,” he said. “So, very challenging times.”

Combine that with rising fuel and food prices, as well as trouble trying to source good, nutritious food, it’s a difficult balancing act.

Greener Village delivers food hampers to those who can’t travel to their centre, and they buy food to ensure those hampers meet a person or family’s nutritional needs.

Continued fuel increases – like the one New Brunswick experienced Thursday – is another pressure on their bottom-line.

However, Boyd wants to assure anyone who needs them, to not hesitate and reach out for help.  

“We’re doing everything we can to meet that demand, and doing it as efficiently as we possibly can. We're looking into routing systems so we're not taking extra kilometres, we're doing everything we can,” he said.

“When you put your budget forward, you’re planning for all of the financial pieces of a year. You don't necessarily take into account that fuel might rise by 30, 40, 50 cents a litre.”

He's hoping those who need the help, will turn to them for it – and those who don’t, may be in the position to provide some support to the food bank, which hands out about $2.5 million in food every year.

Monetary and food bank donations are integral, but Boyd says there are other ways people can help as well.

“You can give your time. Greener Village runs on a 10-person staff, but if we had to have staff for all the work that gets done, it would probably be around a 30 to 35-person staff. So, volunteering your time to help us meet food hampers, to work in our warehouse, and to help in our gardens to grow our own food,” he said.

“And talk about us. Talk about the work that organizations like Greener Village are doing in your community… You may not notice the tangible effect of it but people hearing that and people then deciding, ‘You know what, that’s really cool, I want to engage.’ All of those things are really, really important.”