A pandemic followed by a wildfire evacuation and the rising cost of living have driven more Yellowknifers to seek food aid and itSA国际影视传媒檚 putting a strain on local food banks.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e certainly gone up 50 per cent or more (over the past three or four months), and every week thereSA国际影视传媒檚 two or three new families coming,SA国际影视传媒� said Tony Brushett, executive director for the Salvation Army, adding that the increase in usage is closer to 100 per cent over the past year.

The food bank is now serving up to 60 families a week. There are also more people who came in looking for snack and lunch box for school-aged children compared to the past, he added.

Consequently, the food bank is facing a budget shortfall as the fiscal year ends in March.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e already spent all of our food budget for the year, and we still have about four months left in our fiscal year. So we now have to dig into our own resources from our donors and our own bank account to get the money to purchase the food that we need,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Brushett believes the evacuation, which lasted for about a month, was a tipping point for many families who were already on the edge of being able to afford necessities.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e had some come here who have never used a food bank before, but theySA国际影视传媒檙e saying itSA国际影视传媒檚 a choice of paying the bills and eating,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

He added that the food bank is also seeing more single people who are having trouble finding affordable housing in the city.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey are coming here now on a very regular basis, almost as if you were going to the grocery store,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淵ou come to the food bank, you get enough food to get you through, hopefully three or four or five days, and then you try to find it from you own resources.SA国际影视传媒�

Brushett hopes the demand will level off soon, but he is worried about the elevated demand continuing.

SA国际影视传媒淚f we were to continue that trend for the year, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 another 100 or 200 families every month, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 going to be difficult to keep up with that,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淵ellowknife of course, as tough as it is, but across the country thatSA国际影视传媒檚 the trend right now, people are struggling and all the food banks are finding that the need is increasing a lot.

SA国际影视传媒淚f you were to figure it out, it may even be one or two per cent of our population are using our food bank, and weSA国际影视传媒檙e not the only food bank in town. So thereSA国际影视传媒檚 more people using the food bank here per capita.SA国际影视传媒�

He explained that there are two other smaller food banks in the city, and they are also experiencing similar increases in demand. He said the food banks work together with Food Rescue, an umbrella group that collects and distributes food from local stores and warehouses.