By Andrew Mitchell
The transition between summer and winter is especially tough on younger residents and new arrivals to Whistler, who are either waiting to start working or getting limited hours. Some establishments shut down entirely, laying staff off until the start of the winter season.
That’s why late fall and early winter is the busiest season for the Whistler Food Bank, whish is operated by the Whistler Community Services Society.
According to Sandra McCarthy, food bank coordinator, things are starting to get busier.
“It’s just starting to kick in,” she said. “I just noticed this week that the kids are starting to get in and it is getting busier — which is a good thing for the town in the sense that kids are still coming here to work. It would be more troubling if we didn’t see anybody come in at this time of year.”
The food bank is open the first and third Monday of every month in a trailer behind the Catholic Church at the bottom of Lorimer Road, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. People with more urgent needs can also call an emergency number, 604-932-0113.
McCarthy says she is starting to get more calls in between food bank regular hours.
Everyone who stops by the food bank will get several bags of non-perishable items, like pasta and sauce and peanut butter, as well some fresh food donated by local grocery stores. Some of the non-perishable food is purchased using money raised by the food bank, while other food is donated at drop boxes placed in local grocery stores.
So far her supplies are holding out, but based on her early numbers McCarthy plans to hold a food drive in November.
“It seems there were not as many people coming in this summer, so we’re doing fairly well. We were worried because donations were down last Christmas, but with a slower summer things seem to have balanced out,” she said. “We’re still always looking for donations, and I’m starting to think of doing a food drive in November.”
People using the food bank range from families to young people who are new to town. One of the most common things McCarthy has been hearing recently is that younger people are either still looking for work, or are only getting one or two days of work per week.
“Nobody can survive working just one day a week,” said McCarthy. “There’s a lot of people who would be relieved to see an early winter and for things to pick up.”
