Shelves are often empty at local food pantries as more pop up around HRM.
Food pantries are individual sites that provide food, usually donated, for those in need in a specific area.
According to Ellis Pickersgille, who is on the board at The Cole Harbour Community Fridge, the demand is eye-opening for some, and the need is from those of all ages.
Photo: Cole Harbour Community Fridge/Facebook
Pickersgille tells our newsroom because they have a fridge and freezer, they are able to have fresh items, with their most popular being milk, cheese and eggs—but they go fast.
“We fill the fridge four times a week as a board and as our volunteers do. Plus, community donations come in all of the time, because people are accessing the fridge all of the time.”
She says the service got off the ground by a community health grant, but to keep it going, they do raise money.
Local councillor Trish Purdy also pays for 30 local produce bundles that they give away every two weeks for free.
They even go a step further with a volunteer Bike Brigade who will cycle their way to deliver the bundles to anyone who can’t make it to their location on Bissett Rd.
Pickersgille says it feels “right” to try to build a strong community.
Bedford Lions
A community pantry in Bedford is also feeling the enormous need.
Tina Oldfield from The Bedford Lions Community Food Pantry tells us they put about 400-500 food items on the shelves every week, but it is still not enough.
Photo: The Bedford Lions Community Food Pantry/Facebook
“I think people recognize that for the most part, all our volunteers fill the pantry in the morning…and usually by, I would say maybe mid-day, most of the food is gone.”
They have been up and running since January and it took off really quickly.
Oldfield says they used to restock the shelves twice a day, but had to reduce it to only once, because they were running out of inventory.
For those who come to the pantry for food, Kraft Dinner, spaghetti sauce and noodles, canned vegetables and snacks are the main go-to’s.
She says, to keep the project going they usually rely on food drives with local schools, with Basinview Drive Community School, being their main supporter.
She adds that the community has really come together and has been really supportive.
Impressive, but not enough
Those who run community pantries are the “unsung heroes”, according to Nick Jennery, Executive Director of Feed Nova Scotia.
He says these community initiatives are doing the best they can, but they don’t have scale and fall a long way short of addressing the true need.
“What we really need, at a provincial level, is a plan. A plan with some targets, a plan that indicates what food banks are going to do, what the government is going to do.”
Jennery tells us that from January to May 2024, there were 169,000 visits to food banks in N.S., that they support, which is a 21 per cent increase from last year.
However, he says, with the municipal election coming up, there is a chance to ask what the plan is with food insecurity.
In the meantime, the message he has to the volunteers at local food pantries is, “thank you.”
“Thank you for what you are doing but make sure the province knows that your community is in need of help.”
