The Salvation Army has moved to feeding people five days a week and serving as many as 150 meals a day. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Food Bank Demand

Prince Albert Food Bank, Salvation Army seeing increased demand

Aug 23, 2021 | 2:00 PM

Food banks and meal programs in Prince Albert have been helping more people than usual in recent weeks.

From back-to-school season to the full reopening of the province on July 11, there have been several factors driving people to seek help feeding themselves and their families.

At the Salvation Army, for example, the meal program has been on the frontline of the homeless issue in the city. As the province has reopened, they’ve seen a sharp rise in the number of people needing a hot meal.

“We provided (on Thursday) 156 bag meals out our door, so the numbers have been growing,” said Lori Galbraith, community and family service worker with the Salvation Army. “We started (the week) with 120 meals and now we’re up to 156.”

According to Galbraith, The Gate had been doing a good job of providing meals as well but has been on a temporary hiatus, so the Salvation Army has been providing meals five days a week. With more people coming to them, Salvation Army volunteers have seen just how much the city’s homelessness issue is growing.

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“I’ve found the numbers have been continually going up since I started the food program last February,” Galbraith said. “I’ve only lived here a short time — just over a year and a half — but I have seen our numbers go up continue with new homeless that I don’t always see, new faces that I’m seeing around.”

For Galbraith, while there is something positive to be taken from the number of people who have stepped up to help the homeless, it can be discouraging to see so many people in need of that help.

“There are usually lots of reasons why they are (homeless),” Galbraith said. “They’re valuable, they’re worthwhile. It breaks my heart at times. I also have lots of joy. I’ve gotten the chance to know a lot of people in the last year that I’ve worked here.”

Meanwhile, the Prince Albert Food Bank is seeing a rise in need for their services as well. Though they usually see an increase in late August as families stretch their resources to afford school supplies, this year has thrown in the added wrinkle of the pandemic.

“Since the restrictions were lifted, we’re seeing about a 15 per cent increase so far,” said executive director Kim Scruby. “We’ve also been assisting other agencies with meal programs and that type of thing, and we’re definitely seeing an increase in that.”

Scruby added that restrictions lifting also means more volunteers returning, so that’s helped balance out the increase in demand. He also said when COVID first began, the hamper numbers went down but they increased their efforts in direct feeding programs.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP