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Food bank demand up – Metro US

Food bank demand up

Despite a 40 per cent jump in need, the Calgary Food Bank is weathering the recession well, says an orga-nization spokesperson.

The increase in demand at the food bank coincides with a Food Banks Canada report released yesterday, showing a 61 per cent increase in food bank demand in Alberta.

Calgary Food Bank communications co-ordinator Brooke Hunter said the bank is managing well, having collected more than 20-million pounds of food this year and accumulated more than 17,436 volunteer hours from Calgarians.

“Calgarians are great and have always been willing to lend a helping hand.”

Hunter said for other food banks it’s challenging to meet the demand, and many times the Calgary Food Bank sends donations to 26 other food banks across south and central Alberta.

Since the recession, Calgary is the city that people continue to move to in search of work, and even though many are earning money, 43 per cent of needy Calgarians still require assistance from the food bank.

Of the 53,976 Albertans who have visited their local food banks, 21.4 per cent were Calgarians.