O NANAIM
Real Estate Review
Course charted Port Authority planning to expand over next 10 years. PAGE 18 Poetic inspiration Modern dance piece based on T.S. Eliot poems. PAGE B1 Soccer history Author traces sport’s origins in province to Nanaimo.
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VOL. 24, NO. 5 Each office independently owned and operated
Hunger level high throughout city Food providers face tough position with decline in donations, increase in demand BY TOBY GORMAN THE NEWS BULLETIN
The 7-10 Club Society might have to close its meal service for at least a week in the summer because of a decrease in donations, an increase in costs, and an increase in people using the charity. Gord Fuller, 7-10 Club chairman, said the breakfast and bag lunch operation served about 80,000 meals last fiscal year, an 18-per cent increase over 2010. During the same period, donations were down about 25 per cent while overall food costs went up 17.5 per cent. With pressure pulling at both ends of the economic strings, there simply might not be enough money to provide meals for at least a couple of weeks. “Both the increase in people needing our services and the fall in donations are part of the same problem, which is the economy,” said Fuller. “The numbers are going up because more people are in need and they’re not able to make ends meet, and donations from individuals are going down because people simply don’t have the money to donate to charities anymore.” In 2010, the 7-10 Club received $62,300 in total donations, of which $43,300 was from individ-
uals. In 2011, it received $46,435 in donations, of which $32,800 was from individual donors. “It’s a fact, it is tough out there,” said Fuller. At the Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank, executive director Peter Sinclair is also seeing more people using the service. While April is down in usage five per cent overall from March, the food bank’s yearover-year numbers suggest Nanaimo residents are leaning on the service more than ever. “April tends to be a lower month for us because people get their tax returns or begin to find some seasonal work,” said Sinclair. “But we look at April 2011 and we had 3,264 adults using our services. April 2012 we had 3,912 adults. We’ve jumped considerably.” Sinclair said many people who access the food bank are working, but not making enough money to cover basic needs like food, rent, and transportation on their own. There is also an increasing number of people who have been able to make it on their own previously, but had an interruption in their cash flow and don’t have enough left over for food, he said. “People can be coming here because they’re in a cash flow crunch and they’re desperate,” he said. “Sure, they drive a decent car and people like to point out they maybe shouldn’t be using the food bank, but that car may very well be about to be repossessed. There are all kinds of stories of why people need to use the food bank.” ◆ See ‘SITUATION’ /6
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
June Gordon, Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank volunteer, sorts through bread products about to be handed out to food bank clients. Food stocks dwindle when donations decline during spring and summer months.
2012 HUNGER
CHALLENGE The News Bulletin isn’t just writing about hunger in Nanaimo. With Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank, we co-ordinated the Hunger Challenge, asking people to eat for two weeks as regular food bank clients. Read about how the project went on page 7.
Hunger Awareness Week was created to provide food banks with an opportunity to educate about the reality of hunger in Canada and to encourage all Canadians to make a choice to help those in need. Close to 900,000 individuals turn to food banks for support each month, and close to two million Canadians are food inse-
cure, struggling with not knowing where their next meal may come from. More than 900 food banks and 2,900 affiliated agencies distribute groceries or provide meals to Canadians in need. To learn more about Hunger Awareness Week initiatives, please go to http://hungerawarenessweek.ca.