More residents of Alberta are turning to food banks, many for the first time, due to inflation characterized by rising costs of rent, food, and fuel.

People who did not really need our organization before are now coming to us.

According to Tamisaan Bines Knight, spokesperson for Edmonton Food Bank

“Even some previous donors are now seeking our help,” Bines Knight adds.

Last June, this bank located in Alberta's capital helped about 35,000 people, but it says it cannot sustain this pace.

“We often hear: 'I never thought I would be here, or I never thought it (being someone asking for help) would be me,'” says Lori Makritchie, general manager of the food bank in Airdrie, in southern Alberta, where the number of new users of the bank’s services nearly doubled last June compared to the same month last year.

In Brooks, in southeastern Alberta, the food bank named after the city recorded 83 new applicants for food assistance in June and July, nearly three times the new applicants in the same period last year.

“These numbers may seem a bit small, but for a food bank like ours, they are very important,” says Brooks Food Bank director, Aurora Champlon.

Brooks has a population of about 16,000 people.

Meanwhile, food banks are also facing a sensitive situation, as some receive fewer donations than usual.

And while this situation is considered normal during the summer by Ariana Scott, CEO of Food Banks Alberta, she believes it is not normal for a decrease in donations to be accompanied by an increase in demand.

“Most food banks can continue their work during the summer because they also see a decrease in demand, but this is not the case this year,” says Scott.

Lori Makritchie and Aurora Champlon call on those who can help to support local food banks.

Every gesture, no matter how small, is important, Champlon reminds, pointing out that a bag of canned food or a twenty-dollar bill, for example, can have an immediate impact.

For her part, Ariana Scott sees that reducing hunger means addressing the root of the problem, which is that many people do not earn enough money to support themselves.

Reducing poverty and increasing employment are the only solution to food insecurity, because food insecurity stems from these two places.