WESTLOCK – With high inflation and rising food costs, many will struggle to feed their families this holiday season.
As a result, more and more people are having to turn to community supports like Christmas Hamper programs and area food banks. Westlock Food Bank president Sharon Kennedy said the need for assistance has increased dramatically in recent weeks in light of several factors.
“Our numbers have gone up, probably 25 per cent. I’ve done the stats up until the end of November and we’ve served almost 4,000 people,” said Kennedy. “It’s over 1,000 more than last year and we haven’t even got through December.”
Kennedy said throughout the year and especially at Christmas, “every little bit helps, whether it’s $20 or $50 or $500, it all helps” and pointed out community organizations and local businesses who are pitching in to help, including the Town of Westlock Fire Department’s Firefighter In the Sky fundraiser, area schools that hold food drives, and monetary donations from organizations like the Westlock Knights of Columbus, who recently gave $2,500 to the Westlock Food Bank.
The Barrhead Food Bank has also seen an increase in users, noted Barrhead and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) community and volunteer development coordinator Trisha Enman, who is also in charge of the Christmas Hamper program.
“I think we served 276 people in November alone, which is also substantially up from previous months,” said Enman. “We’ve seen a lot of new names come through that we weren’t familiar with so there’s definitely a growing need in the community. We’re anticipating in January, February and March with heating bills and things like that on the rise, that those numbers will continue to go up.”
Other community initiatives helping Barrhead families this season include the FCSS Fill a Cruiser fundraiser, the Barrhead Steelers hockey team held a bottle drive and toy drive and raised more than $800 in cash and a substantial amount in toys for the food bank and the Christmas Hamper program, along with other community programs including Santa’s Toy box.
“We just got a big donation from the Barrhead high school and it was actually the biggest that we’ve seen in many, many years so those kids definitely stepped up this year,” said Enman. “And we have a current (food drive) running at the elementary school.”
Westlock’s Wild Rose REA Ltd. is one of several area businesses stepping up to help with donations of $500 each to the Westlock and District Food Bank and the Barrhead Food Bank.
”It’s become an annual tradition for us,” said Wild Rose REA Ltd. customer service manager Kayla St. Pierre, noting the Westlock based business has been donating to the food bank every December for several years and wants to encourage community support for local food banks during the holiday season.
Money donated by Wild Rose REA Ltd. will go towards the food portion of the Christmas Hamper program and will also help sustain the food bank in the weeks following the Christmas holiday season, noted Enman.
Kennedy shared gratitude for the outpouring of support in Westlock, especially at a time of year when so many are struggling and facing expectations and demands of the holiday season.
“Westlock is one of the most giving communities that I’ve ever lived in. Sometimes it just blows me away,” said Kennedy. “It brings tears to our eyes — all us volunteers, when we see these donations coming in.”
