An economic downturn of the kind now confronting the country doesn’t play favourites, and the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank is no exception.
“In March this year we did see an 80 per cent increase in clients compared with March of last year,” said communications coordinator April Cruz.
Cruz, who described the higher demand as significant, said the food bank is actually recording an increase in donations, but they’ve not been enough.
“We’ve seen the recession and the economy affect our services, and although donation levels have increased, they’ve not been at the same pace as the demand.”
The Calgary Apartment Association has weighed in with a campaign to help out. Last year, in its first effort, the CAA collected 6,700 pounds of food from landlords and tenants, and it’s hoping to increase the total for 2009.
“We’ve got 65 buildings, with 10,000 units. The food drive actually brings landlords and tenants together, working collectively to help Calgarians who need a hand,” said CAA executive director Gerry Baxter.
The food bank needs all the help it can get. In 2008, almost 90,000 people were supplied with more than six million pounds of food.
According to Cruz, the bank is holding its own, but “we don’t ever want to come to the point where we look at our warehouse and go, ‘what are we going to do?'”
