Joy Black, working mom of 2, thanks God for food banks

Joy Black visits the food bank every two weeks and, despite having held down jobs, doesn't know how she and her two kids would have had enough to eat over the past decade without it. 

Black, who is currently a student, started using a Winnipeg Harvest food bank when her kids were young, after leaving an abusive relationship.

She has worked on and off for the past decade but found it hard to give her kids the care they need and hold down a steady job at the same time.

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That's especially true of her 13-year-old, who lives with Tourette's and Asperger's syndromes and has aspects of obsessive compulsive disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. As he grew up, he needed more and more help to get through the day at school and daycare — a trend that has only recently started improve. 

Thank God the food bank is there— Joy Black

Black's family went from going to the food bank occasionally to visiting every month, and now every two weeks. 

"The prices in the store have gone up so much that it's very, very difficult to make ends meet," Black said.  

"Over the last few months, we've run out of milk, we've run out of cereal. We have to wait until we go to Harvest … because if it weren't there, we would be doing without a lot of things." 

'It's not one government'

Black is one of about 15 per cent of food bank users who work or have recently worked, according to the latest survey of Manitobans who rely on food banks. 

The statistic doesn't surprise Josh Brandon.

"About half of people with minimum wage jobs are over 24 years of age; one in three have university degrees or university education," said Brandon, the chairperson of Make Poverty History Manitoba.

Too many working people in our society struggle to make it above the poverty line, he said, blaming low wages and a lack of affordable housing and other supports. 

"It's not one government, one political party that's responsible," he said.

When you have a 13 year-old son, one loaf of bread doesn't go very far- Joy Black

Manitoba has "seen poverty under NDP governments, under Liberal governments and under Progressive Conservative governments. We need to move beyond that blaming and work together toward solutions."

Manitoba needs to develop a comprehensive poverty reduction plan and that includes targets and timelines, he said.

Poverty leads to more people in the justice, child welfare and health-care systems, he said. 

"It doesn't make long-term economic sense to allow poverty to fester in our society." 

Nobody wants to use a food bank

Black is calling on Premier Brian Pallister to make real changes to help Manitobans living in poverty.

She said it was difficult to decide to turn to the food bank for help. She still doesn't like to admit she relies on one, but she needs to do it for her kids and wants people to know it's a choice nobody makes lightly, she said. 

"People aren't going to Harvest just to get something for free or just because they can," Black said. 

"People are going to Harvest because they need it, and it's hard for people to do it. It's a very difficult thing. You swallow your pride and you go … and thank God the food bank is there."

While the food bank may be there, occasionally the food isn't.

Food banks need more help

At certain times of the year, Black has shown up at the food bank to find there isn't much food. 

Sometimes staples, such as bread, are in short supply, and Black's "heart drops" when she realizes what that means for her family. 

"When you have a 13-year-old son, one loaf of bread doesn't go very far," Black said.  

"You kind of have to watch things at home and you have to sort of ration almost. When you come home, open up a can of soup. Don't eat the bread. No cereal tonight."

Black is thankful for every person who donates to places like Winnipeg Harvest.

"It touches my heart and sometimes I just sit and cry, because thank goodness for those people who realize that there are people that need help and that they have the kindness and compassion to give that help," she said.

"It means a great deal, not just to my family, but to the thousands and thousands of people out there who need the help."