Rising costs force Stephenville food bank to shrink hamper weights to stay open

The loss of a community grocery store in Stephenville is having a big impact on the western Newfoundland town's emergency food bank, which has decided to tighten its screening process and reduce the weight of its hampers due to costs and demand.

The Indian Head Co-Op, which closed in July, had been open in the community for nearly six decades. It worked closely with Stephenville Emergency Food Services to deliver meat and other goods at low cost to the food bank.

Without them, Pastor Gerad Noble, the food bank's appointed chair, said costs for meats have risen by upwards of 27 per cent. The group has decided to change what it serves and has opted for eggs over its normal offerings of ground meats and chicken thighs.

"The food bank is entirely driven by volunteers. We don't have our own delivery service, we don't even have a dependable schedule, I suppose, on what we can commit ourselves to in picking up stock at the grocery stores themselves," Noble told CBC Radio Monday.

"So the loss of a delivery service, the loss of cost has really made an impact in our overall budget."

Noble said the food bank has seen about 10 new people per week on average since August, and helped over 600 people over that month.

He said change was necessary in order to keep the doors open.

"At the rate that we were going, we would be run dry before the fifth of December," he said. "The number of people coming to us in legitimate crisis is staggering."

LISTEN | Hear the full conversation on CBC Newfoundland Morning:

CBC Newfoundland Morning7:03The food bank in Stephenville reduces the size of food hampers, to meet rising demand and higher grocery costs.

A food bank in the Stephenville area will soon be giving away less food than it has in the past. Stephenville Emergency Food Services will continue to operate. But it's tightening up its screening process, and it is reducing the size of food hampers. One major factor in the decision is the loss of a significant community partner, with the closure of the Indian Head Co-op grocery store. Pastor Gerad Noble is current appointed chair of Stephenville Emergency Food Services.

The food bank also decided to tighten its screening process by asking for MCP cards at pickup to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and can avail of services equally. He said that the loss of the co-op is being felt across the community.

"It may seem like we're tightening things up. What I want them to know is that we'll never ever punish anyone in crisis," he said.

"We're making sure that everyone is treated fairly and no one goes hungry."

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