The number of St. Albert Food Bank users receiving unemployment insurance and income support has doubled in the past year.
Though not a complete picture of the community, numbers provided by the St. Albert Food Bank show there has been an increase in the number of families that are experiencing employment and financial difficulties.
In June 2015, 40 per cent of families accessing the food bank were employed. That percentage decreased in June 2016 to 35 per cent, meaning 159 families were out of work, compared to 98 in June of last year.
Seventeen families (seven per cent) were receiving unemployment insurance and 63 (26 per cent) were receiving income support in June 2016.
In June 2015, only eight (five per cent) were on EI and 31 (19 per cent) on income support.
This represents an increase of more than 100 per cent in both EI and social assistance among food bank users.
In June 2016, the food bank saw 48.8 per cent more usage than the same month last year, with 244 families accessing services compared to 164 in June 2015.
Executive director Suzan Krecsy said this is becoming the new norm. The food bank is now averaging about 250 families per month.
“We’re exceedingly busy,” she said. “We’re just not going down in numbers at all. It’s really sad for our families to be going through this.”
Most affected families are those previously employed in the oil patch said Krecsy. Though some have been successful in finding jobs, they still require support from the food bank to help make ends meet.
“Perhaps the change in lifestyle is exceedingly difficult and their bills were a little bit higher when they could afford them,” she said. “A lot of them have sold a lot of their stuff. I get a lot of calls from people saying they’ve sold all they can sell.”
The Career Resources Centre operated by the St. Albert Public Library also saw a surge of activity in the past year, with many users coming from a background in the trades.
“We're seeing and helping skilled workers who often have tickets and the range of skills required for the jobs they've been doing but haven't had to use or acquire computer skills, until now,” said adult services coordinator Sheila Drummond.
The latest EI numbers, released by Statistics Canada Thursday, show that EI in the Edmonton region has increased by 37.8 per cent and by 48 per cent in the province over the past year.
The St. Albert Food Bank will be conducting its annual food drive on Sept. 17.
“This is going to mean more to us than it ever has,” said Krecsy.
