As food bank need grows, Évangéline Food Drive organizer hopes for more donations
Food collected from annual drive has dropped from 680 kilograms to about 360 kilograms in last few years
Organizers of a food drive in western P.E.I. say donations have been a lot less than in the past, despite growing demand.
Angèle Arsenault, organizer of the Évangéline Food Drive, said that when the food drive first started about five years ago, there was about 680 kilograms of food donated. That number dropped to about 360 kilograms last year.
They need food and they will need the food bank.- Angèle Arsenault, food drive organizer
"I don't know if people now are so used to it, they don't think of it as much as the first time," said Arsenault.
She said it might also be a case of people having less food of their own to give.
"A lot of people, even if they're working full-time they can't make ends meet," said Arsenault. "They need food and they will need the food bank."
She said while the cost of living is going up, wages aren't.
Arsenault said food banks in the area rely heavily on the annual food drive and the food that's donated is used up in about a month.
Digging into the cupboards
Regardless, Arsenault and her team are staying positive.
This year, she's hoping to bring in more than 450 kilograms of food.
The food drive will kick off on Tuesday and run until Oct. 18. Food that's been collected will then be given to the Summerside Salvation Army Food Bank and the Tyne Valley Caring Cupboard.
Arsenault said community members can drop off non-perishable food items at the Wellington Co-op or Évangéline-Central Credit Union.
"Hopefully, people will dig deeper in their cupboards and find stuff that they have extra," she said.