Surging demand for B.C. charity's food hampers a ‘startling trend'

Global News

16 hours ago

A Vancouver charity is sounding the alarm about growing food insecurity as it sees a surge in demand for its emergency food hamper service.
The Union Gospel Mission launched its food hamper program early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the program, eligible clients can pick up a package of things like pasta, sauce, beans and other pantry staples, along with a grocery store gift card, up to four times a year.
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UGM spokesperson Nick Wells said in 2020 the program handed out 1,200 hampers, but that the need has since grown exponentially.
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'This year, as of June, we've already given out 4,200, so we're on pace to crack more than 8,000 this year, which is a startling trend,' he said.
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'I think it really speaks to the kind of food insecurity and the rising food costs that we're witnessing not just here in Vancouver, but across the province.'
The common refrain from clients, Wells said, is that the rising cost of living has increasingly put healthy food out of reach.
He said the UGM sees families of all sizes and types coming in, from single parents to multi-child families to grandparents raising their grandchildren like Hazel Arnold.
'We were homeless for like two and a half years at Oppenheimer Park, and without UGM and being allowed to shower here and get food … you just can't make ends meet without this place,' she said.
Arnold, who cares for her 10-year-old and 16-year-old granddaughters, has been using the hamper service for about two years. The trio were living in an RV until they got housing last fall, but still face a constant battle to stay afloat.
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The hampers, she said, have been a lifeline.
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'It's all high protein. There's a lot of beans, tuna, spaghetti sauce, there's usually treats in there for the kids, fresh canned fruit, porridge, rice, spaghetti. There is a variety of food, a great amount of essentials that you can use to make a lot meals,' Arnold said.
'I try to make it last at least a week and a half, two weeks, so that's with porridge every morning, rice, you know plain rice with some soy sauce, throw a can of vegetables in there that they provide, and then spaghetti, make spaghetti sauce and freeze it and do the best I can.'
Even limiting the hampers to one every three months for clients, Wells said the UGM spends about $10,000 per month on food.
'It's great that we're able to help people, but I think it also speaks to just how much day-to-day expenses are hurting people,' he said.
People interested in helping can donate through the UGM website.