With client demand reaching new heights at every turn, the Okotoks Food Bank is doing all it can to keep pace.
The food bank, one of seven local charities being supported by this year’s Western Wheel Cares campaign, has seen unprecedented demand for its services during a record-breaking 2023.
“Food bank usage is at the highest levels ever in Canada,” said executive director Pamela McLean. “And all I can say to that is our stats certainly reflect that. The numbers are astounding.”
McLean said the food bank served 28,000 in 2022 in what was an incredibly busy year, but that number has been dwarfed in 2023 as 63,000 have sought its services through the end of October.
“Last year we could not believe how busy it was, so I knew this year it was going to be bad, but I did not foresee the level of need,” McLean said.
She said in a typical month the food bank might get four or five families registering for its food hamper program, with the highest-ever month reaching nine, a figure that was obliterated in October when 23 families signed up.
McLean is bracing for a busy holiday season as she expects a record number of requests for Christmas hampers.
She said they typically use the number of Thanksgiving hampers to predict the need for Christmas, adding last year’s 65 Thanksgiving hampers correlated to about 200 for Christmas. With a record 104 requests for Thanksgiving hampers this year, she’s expecting the Christmas number to reach 300.
As a result, the food bank is starting Christmas hamper registration on Nov. 15, a week earlier than normal to try and stay on top of it and see if that correlation plays out.
McLean is hopeful the food bank can meet the demand, saying the community food drive in September helped fortify warehouse shelves and sponsorship for upcoming Christmas concerts, the non-profit's biggest fundraiser of the year, are strong. She’s also optimistic that community members will step up to adopt a family by sponsoring a Christmas hamper.
McLean said the donation from Western Wheel Cares, which is one of the larger ones it receives annually, is typically earmarked for a capital project, helping with the purchase of a delivery truck and an electric forklift in past years.
This time around, half of the money will be used to update technology, but the other half will go toward buying food.
“I just can't promise that it's all going to go into capital spending because the need for food is just so outstanding right now,” she said. “We always like to have it for a capital item, but we've never seen need like this before.”
This year’s Western Wheel Cares campaign runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 and 100 per cent of donations go to the featured charities.
In 2022, the campaign raised a record $82,670, pushing its 11-year total to $569,059.
Each week, the Wheel will feature one of the seven organizations — Foothills Advocacy in Motion Society, Foothills Country Hospice, Inclusion Foothills, Okotoks Food Bank, Pound Rescue, Rowan House Society and Sheep River Health Trust — supported by the initiative.
To donate to Western Wheel Cares, mail cheques to Box 150, Okotoks, AB, T1S 2A2 or visit westernwheel.ca/western-wheel-cares for a Paypal donation link.
As well, you can drop by the Wheel office at 9 McRae St. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch) or call 403-938-6397.
