BARRHEAD — As a result of additional assistance for Alberta food banks provided by the United Conservative Party government, Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken presented grants totaling $65,000 to the Barrhead Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Society – which operates the Barrhead Food Bank — on April 4.
In November, the province announced that $20 million in support would be paid out to food banks and other civil service agencies over two years to help with an increase in demand from Albertans struggling with ever-increasing cost of living expenses.
“It was recognized by ... the government how fixed income individuals and lower income individuals are having a difficult time through this inflationary period,” said van Dijken.
Approximately $10 million was provided to food banks simply to help with purchasing food. A total of $5 million was paid out shortly after the November announcement, with the other $5 million to be paid out in the spring.
van Dijken indicated the other $10 million would consist of matching grants for food banks that they would need to fundraise for and then apply to receive.
Of the $65,000 being given to the Barrhead FCSS Society, approximately $50,000 was a matching grant to be put towards operations.
FCSS executive director Karen Gariepy said they would be able to use that $50,000 for insurance, WCB premiums and wages for staff that are paid directly by the food bank, stressing that FCSS dollars cannot be used to pay those wages.
Gariepy said that in order to apply for that $50,000, she had to pull up a list of all the donors that had given money to the food bank last year.
“We were very fortunate that our donations were higher than $50,000,” she said.
It’s worth noting that this somewhat complicated accounting is necessary because of the unique status of FCSS organizations in Alberta, particularly the not-for-profit Barrhead FCSS Society.
The province provides 80 per cent of base operating funding for FCSS organizations while local municipalities provide a minimum of 20 per cent, which in the case of Barrhead is split evenly between the town and county.
However, the Barrhead FCSS operates several community-funded programs that have to be paid for out of different pots of cash.
Gariepy indicated they have to keep the funds allotted for the food bank separate from other programs to avoid losing any of it, which would be disastrous.
van Dijken said the matching grant was, in effect, a recognition of the work that’s already being done by the food bank and the community, suggesting it was a hand-up instead of a hand-out.
“From my standpoint, I really appreciate that the people in the community are stepping up and helping out,” he said. “That’s good to see in our rural communities.”
The other $15,000 was a no-questions-asked top-up of cash meant solely to purchase food and supplies for the food bank, Gariepy indicated.
Regardless of the reasons it was provided, all of the financial assistance was greatly welcomed by Barrhead FCSS.
“We are so grateful for the contribution of the provincial government and the community, so that we’re sustainable to meet the needs of our clients,” said Gariepy.
Food drive and new hours
In related news, last week also marked a community food drive by the Barrhead FCSS, which distributed paper grocery bags out to the community and asked residents to fill them with non-perishable food items. The bags could then be left by residents’ front doors on April 5, where they would be picked up by volunteers.
The exact amount collected as part of that drive was unclear as of publication deadlines. However, Gariepy noted that they have started tracking all of the food donations that come in for the food bank, adding that while they knew how much financial assistance that they received in a given year, they never actually weighed the amount of food that comes in.
“So we’re starting that now,” she said.
Finally, it is also worth noting that a notice was posted to the Town of Barrhead’s Facebook page last week stating the food bank will only be open on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting on May 1.
