More people relying on Brandon's biggest food bank

More and more people in Brandon are turning to Samaritan House Ministries' food bank for help.

"We've seen our numbers double in the last 10 years," said Marcia Wiebe, program coordinator at the food bank.

"And especially in the last six months, we've hit the new high of 1,500 hampers per month in our city. And that is a big challenge for us."

In October, there were some tense moments at Brandon's largest food bank.

"We saw before Thanksgiving that we were down to day-by-day, wondering where the next amount of food was going to come for those hampers," 

Wiebe said housing costs, which remain extremely high in Brandon, are a big reason for the growing demand.

"We believe that it's because people simply can't get ahead because the rents are so high in Brandon," Wiebe said. "Food costs are rising and shelter costs are staying high, and therefore they simply can't make those choices between feeding their kids and paying rent."

Because of the increasing need in Brandon, Samaritan House has been forced to take a new approach in planning to meet operational needs.

They often turn to other food banks across the prairies for help.

"Calgary in particular has been very helpful. They sent us a very large load of food in October when we were absolutely low," said Wiebe.

Wiebe also said people in Brandon and the surrounding area are generous.

A food drive Thursday night brought in 544 kilograms of food and $800 dollars in cash donations.

"The community and the surrounding area really do step up, but they simply can't keep up to the demand. The demand is rising farther than our city can maintain."

More than 60,000 Manitobans are helped by food banks every month.

Many of those who rely on food banks are children.