Demand for food banks is high in Estevan and Weyburn, despite oil boom
CBC News | Posted: December 14, 2014 11:30 AM | Last Updated: December 14, 2014
High cost-of-living sees people choosing to pay for shelter over food, says Salvation Army
People who run food banks in the heart of Saskatchewan's oil boom say their cities are seeing an increased demand for their services in recent years.
Lieutenant Brian Bobolo is with the Salvation Army. He and his wife run the food banks in Estevan and Weyburn.
Bobolo says jobs are still easy to come by in those cities, but not all of them are as high-paying as jobs in the oil sector.
"So they have to choose between paying the very high rents or buying food, so they often choose to pay the rent so they can continue to have shelter and then they'll come to us to provide for their food needs," Bobolo said.
Bobolo says for the past three years, demand at the Estevan food bank has risen about 10 per cent each year. He said donations are down so far this year, but he is hopeful they will pick up before Christmas.