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Food Bank use continuing to rise

Underemployment primary reason so many using service

An early start to winter hasn't alleviated any pressure on the Whistler Food Bank, which has already broken records in terms of user numbers.

According to coordinator Sara Jennings, on Dec. 6 the food bank provided food for 159 people. Already in 2010 the food bank has served over 2,000 people, up from 1,200 in 2009.

The food bank has also fed children 300 times over the course of the year, based on feedback of food bank users. That's not to say that 300 children have been fed, as the food bank has fed some of those children multiple times.

The main problem for many food bank users, says Jennings, is underemployment. The majority of food bank users are employed, but are not working enough hours to make ends meet.

"We get everybody - families, pensioners, older people, younger people - but given that this is a service industry town that is largely made up of more transient and definitely younger people, that's what we get here," said Jennings, adding that Whistler's seasonal workforce is extremely vulnerable.

"They're the first ones cut, they're the first ones to lose hours and shifts, rather than longer-term or older employees," said Jennings.

So far the food bank is handling the extra volume, as fundraising and food donations have been stepped up by the community in response to earlier concerns about food bank usage. However, Jennings estimates that they are purchasing as much as 75 per cent of food and other items provided to food bank users, with the rest coming from food hamper donations at local grocery stores.

In addition to providing drop-in food bank service for the first and third Monday of every month, the Whistler Food Bank also provides emergency service when required. Jennings says those calls are up as well.

The Whistler Community Services Society, which runs the food bank, is looking into the root causes of the increase in local demand, although increased usage has been reported across B.C. and Canada as a result of high unemployment, an increased number of seniors living on budgets and other factors.

In the meantime they want to clear up a misconception that the majority of food bank users are gaming the system or are unwilling to work.

Of the 159 customers on Monday, 61 were accessing the food bank for the first time. Of the remaining users, less than 10 people had used the food bank more than five times within the last 12 months.

"They're working part time, many are looking for second jobs or waiting for work to pick up so they can work full time," said Jennings.

Another misconception is that most food bank users are regulars. As the numbers show, Jennings says, that represents a small percentage of their food bank customers. All of those users have genuine needs.

"Some people do use the food bank on an ongoing basis, and the majority of those are families, or there are physical or mental issues that come into play where they depend on the food bank - and those people are almost always accessing other community service programs that are helping them overcome (those issues)," said Jennings.

To handle the demand, Jennings says the food bank has two people working on drop-in days to fill bags and process users. They also have to completely restock their trailer after every drop-in day.

Any help they can get is appreciated - cash donations, food donations and volunteers.

"Everything," she said. "Food donations are great, especially a lot of the staple items that we provide in all the bags we make up for people - canned fruit, canned beans, peanut butter, pasta and pasta sauce, rice, oatmeal, that kind of thing. Those are the key things we always need a lot of, and that's what we're ordering these days.

"Cash donations are very much appreciated because we do have to order a lot of food, and that money goes a long way.

"And volunteers are something we always need, to help restock our shelves and that kind of thing. We have some great volunteers that have really stepped up to help us handle the increase, but we can always use more."

The food bank was in a good position coming into the winter with initiatives like the now annual Wood Chop Sale hosted by Local Automotive and Vision Pacific. That event raised $4,500 for the food bank this year.

Other fundraisers include events at the Westin Resort and Spa and the Whistler Golf Course, where contributors were given a free round of golf; a run for the food bank hosted by local trainer Christine Suter; donations of entry fees from the Whistler Museum; a lantern walk by the Waldorf School, Shaw's "Together is Amazing" campaign, which turned a $1,000 anonymous donation into $3,000; another anonymous donation of $500; a large number of frozen hotdogs donated by Whistler Cooks, and various other cash donations, fundraisers and food-raisers hosted around Whistler by individuals, organizations and businesses.

"Whistler is great," said Jennings. "Every time there has been a need in the community for the food bank, the community has stepped up - but with the numbers we're seeing it's challenging to keep that up."

The food bank is located at the base of Lorimer Road, behind Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church. Food is distributed on the first and third Monday of every month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For emergency inquiries call 604-935-717.