"The most important food drive in 32 years"

The brown bags have been delivered and the volunteers are getting ready for the big pick-up. All you have to do is fill up the bag with food if you can, and make sure it’s on your front step on Saturday by noon.

Sept. 17 is the date for this year’s food drive and it is the most critical event that the social agency has ever held.

“It’s the most important drive in 32 years,” explained St. Albert Food Bank director Suzan Krecsy. “This has been a really hard year because of Fort Mac.”

She said that the poor economy and the Wood Buffalo fire have had such dramatic impacts and demand for food hampers is at an unprecedented level. On average, the food bank helps out 250 families every month. That’s almost twice what it was at this time a year ago and there is usually an extra spike when the kids go back to school. She won’t know how bad this month is until it’s over.

“There’s still a lot of new families coming on,” she said. “The demographic has changed for our homeless population as well. Right now, we’ve got a lot more absolute homeless than we’ve seen before.”

A lot of those families, she clarified, are still employed but their jobs just aren’t paying as much or aren’t as steady as they used to be. “It’s not enough,” she said with a deep sigh.

As always, the news is a double-edged sword, and both sides are razor sharp. The demand has been on a steep upswing for a few years now and it has come coupled with just as steep a decline in donations. If more people need the food bank that means that more people can’t donate to the food bank.

“We’ve all had to step back because people can only give so much. All agencies are feeling the pinch.”

As a result, hamper sizes are at about 60 per cent of the size of what they were in 2015. Each hamper used to ring in at a weight of approximately 200 lbs., she explained. Now, they’re a threadbare 120 lbs. and still stretching thinner.

“They’re continuing to be reduced,” she stated, tempering the bad news with a bit of good about how people have been generously offering the fruits and vegetables from their own gardens to help beef up donations. Every little bit helps, she said, especially fresh produce that has extra nutritive value.

“That is able to increase the weight a little bit. We’re putting in some really nice stuff.”

She added that many vendors of the St. Albert Farmers’ Market have also been offering hundreds of pounds of unsold produce every weekend to help out too.

Still, this food drive is a make it or break it deal. There is only a five-month supply of food on the bank’s shelves at the moment, and it’s usually six as per food bank policy. Krecsy hopes that every St. Albert household that can afford to help out will fill their bags on the weekend to break her goal of bringing in 60,000 lbs.

“We really need this drive. If we put out 20,000 bags and got 10 lbs. in each bag, we’d be laughing. If we could even get 100,000 lbs., that would do us till Christmas.”

If you haven’t received a paper bag, please put your food donation in any bag and label it for the food bank. If your bag doesn’t get collected, please call the food bank at 780-459-0599. You can also drop it off at the food bank itself at #30, 50 Bellerose Dr. or at any grocery store or fire hall.

Those who wish to help out with the massive volunteer effort required to drive around and collect the bags should contact the Red Willow Community Church at 780-458-4644.