The Edmonton Food Bank has collected less than half of its holiday donation goal.
Director Marjorie Bencz said the bank serves between 20,000 and 25,000 people every month, a 50 per cent increase over 2015.
But as need has risen, donations haven’t.
“This year we have a situation where we are serving more people, but if you look at our numbers of food received, we received 70,000 kilograms less than we did in 2015 to the same point in our Christmas and festive campaign,” Bencz said.
It also distributes to soup kitchens, shelters and school programs.
According to Bencz, fewer donations may be a sign of the economy.
“It puts us into a bit of a bind because we not only provide food at this time of year during the festive season, but also into the New Year when unfortunately our services are still needed.”
The food bank’s festive campaign goal is 350,000 kilograms of food. Bencz said donations can be made online, at Candy Cane Lane, or at its warehouse.
