Winnipeg's Christmas Cheer Board gets 30,000 calls for hampers on 1st day of campaign

The Christmas Cheer Board is hoping to deliver a bit of happiness to as many Winnipeggers as possible this year, as rising prices continue to hit people's finances.

"With inflation and the impacts of shopping at the grocery store and just the increased costs everywhere, we know that there's going to be an increased need this year," Shawna Bell, the Cheer Board's executive director, told CBC on Saturday.

"With those increased costs it's becoming more and more prevalent that people need supports in the community."

That's already become clear just one day after the Cheer Board's hamper applications opened.

Bell said the charitable organization received more than 30,000 calls on Friday — including about 10,000 in the first 90 minutes of opening. It completed nearly 500 hamper applications.

Last year the Cheer Board delivered 18,313 hampers full of food and toys to people and families in need, Bell said. 

It's a record Bell expects to beat this year.

"We're anticipating over 19,000," she said.

But accommodating that many requests could pose a challenge, she added, due to the rising costs.

"We're going to support as best we can, but recognizing that, you know, if it does become a crushing load, if we end up exceeding 20 [thousand or] 21,000, we're going to have to make some very difficult decisions," said Bell.

The non-profit has already spent more than $800,000 on groceries and another $250,000 on toys for this season.

"It is a huge increase in need, and the costs are so much more than they have been in the past," Bell said.

Hampers will start getting delivered on Dec. 8, but donations for hampers will be accepted until Dec. 23.

People who want to donate or sponsor a family can visit the Cheer Board's website for more information, said Bell.

Other organizations gearing up

Harvest Manitoba's food banks are also anticipating high demand in the coming weeks.

"We're expecting to see another long, cold winter of people lining up all across this province to use food banks," said Vince Barletta, president and CEO of the food bank network.

Food banks in Manitoba have been seeing nearly 50,000 people each month, Barletta said. He expects those numbers to continue, if not increase, into the holidays.

"People are still struggling with high prices for food, for housing, for transportation, for everything that we buy. Those inflationary pressures that have been pushing people to food banks for the last two years remain with us," Barletta said.

Manitobans can expect to see food drives pop up in grocery stores as Christmas comes closer. Barletta said those looking to organize a food drive can visit Harvest Manitoba's website.

Meanwhile, Brandon-Westman Christmas Cheer officially launched its yearly campaign on Wednesday.

This year, the program will be capping the number of hampers it fills at 1,100 after last season left its headquarters "inundated" with requests, the board's treasurer Bob Walberg said earlier this week.

However, it hopes to fill more requests through its "adopt-a-family" program — which lets businesses, organizations or individuals register to make sure a family gets a hamper.