Community Connections is holding its annual food drive tonight, at a time when more people in Revelstoke and around the world are feeling the strain from the high cost of living.

In August the Revelstoke food bank served almost the highest number of people in that month ever, except for the two Augusts during the pandemic restrictions.

There are between 20 and 40 new households per month using the food bank.

“The pandemic just shifted so many things,” said Melissa Hemphill, the co-director of community outreach and development at Community Connections, and she looks after the food programs.

“So while it seems like things are back to normal, they certainly aren’t for the most vulnerable in our community.” she said.

Community Connections is more and more challenged to provide the things that households need, both because there are more households that need help, and because the cost of food has gone up.

The food drive hasn’t been held the last two years, because of pandemic restrictions. Generally around 250 volunteer to go door-to-door in each neighbourhood, collecting donations of non-perishable food and cash.

Emergency vehicles have their sirens going to let people know to get their donations ready.

However this year, Hemphill said they’re running shy on volunteers and emergency vehicles.

The food drive has historically been the biggest fundraiser for the food bank. It provides a quarter of the food for the year.

Hemphill hopes that if people won’t be home this evening, they’ll leave a donation at the door for volunteers to gather, or they’ll drop off something at the bin at Save-on-Foods or at their outreach building at 416 Second Street West.

The provincial government announced last week what it called “targeted investments” to help take the strain off the high cost of living.

B.C.’s Premier John Horgan said inflation is a worldwide problem, and it’s from the pandemic and “Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”

B.C. is increasing child benefit payments between January and March 2023 and reducing the amount landlords can increase rent in 2023 to two per cent—normally they would be allowed to increase to account for inflation, too. The province is also quadrupling the climate action tax credit, one time, for the payment that people will receive in October.

These are all things that will kick in later for some people. On the ground, Theresa Hamilton says things are tense. She volunteers with Soup and Smile on Mondays at the United Church, and for Community Connections, among other things.

“I definitely see a lot of the same people as I volunteer and all of a sudden there are a lot more people as well,” she said.

Theresa Hamilton volunteers for a variety of organizations around Revelstoke. Photo by Meagan Deuling.

There are two types of poverty that lead people to ask for help from organizations like the food bank. Those that experience systemic poverty, whose ability to support themselves is constantly challenged.

Then there are people who experience situational poverty—maybe they got laid off, evicted from their place or broke up with a partner, are experiencing trauma, or are having a mental health crisis. They may only need to use the food bank once or twice.

“I can confidently say that people who make the effort to show up at the food bank do so because they need some support,” Hemphill said. “And people don’t necessarily advertise their challenges in life and what they’re going through that might bring them to our doors.”

It’s the people who need help with food once or twice, who often turn into the food bank’s biggest donors down the road, Hemphill said.

Community Connections recently did a survey of their clients. Of the people who responded, over 64 per cent have lived in Revelstoke for ten years or more.

Erin Maclachlan is another co-director of Community Connections, and she takes care of outreach. She says she sees the town booming, and she also sees more and more people needing help to eat.

“It’s strange to live and see both,” she said.

To cut through the tension, Theresa Hamilton urges people who have time to give, to get out an volunteer.

“We need more people who can be on the front lines of places, and it is a really, really important way to take the temperature of town.” Hamilton said.

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN TO AN AUDIO REPORT WHICH AIRED ON STOKEFM ON SEPT. 13, 2022.