Sackville has a new emergency support to help people survive the inflationary economy. The Community Sharing Cupboard opened last month behind the Ice Cream Coop on Lorne Street, and the Sackville Food Bank volunteers that run it are ready for an official launch event this Wednesday at 4pm on site.

CHMA caught up with Sackville Food Bank president Heather Patterson and vice-president Tammy Faye to find out more about the new service.

“Food insecurity is at the highest level it’s ever been,” says Patterson. And so the Food Bank has taken inspiration from similar programs across the region, and added another way that people can get help, on short notice, and without paperwork. The Sackville Community Sharing Cupboard is a free, 24/7, self-serve food and supply resource.

Faye says the Sharing Cupboard has been open for about a month, and is already seeing considerable use. “We’re emptied out all the time,” says Faye. The Cupboard is replenished by the Food Bank weekly, and also relies on donations to keep stocked.

A wide range of people use the cupboard, including some who already make use of the Food Bank. “I had somebody who called me today who got his order from the Food Bank last week,” says Patterson. The Food Bank is limited to supplying people every two weeks, but Patterson says the man she spoke to was able to use the Sharing Cupboard to supplement his groceries in the interim.

“It’s for emergency use,” says Faye. “If you’re short from payday to payday, or if anything happens, you just come in and take what you need. If you have something you don’t use yourself, you can leave it for somebody else.”

Being open 24/7 is key to access, says Faye, because work schedules won’t have to coincide with open times. Even someone getting off a shift at midnight can stop in to grab some milk, cereal, tampons or toilet paper. The cupboard carries a number of non-food supplies that often cut into grocery budgets, says Faye.

There are two other similar sharing cupboards in the region. Port Elgin’s Nursing Homes Without Walls just opened the Community of Strait Shores Sharing is Caring Pantry located in the Port Elgin Community Hall. And Dorchester’s Moving Forward Co-op opening a community fridge last summer, featuring fresh and frozen food, some of which comes from their own aquaponics lab. Director Wendy Keats estimates about 80 people in the community source two to four meals per week from the community fridge.

Increasing demand, increasing costs

The number of people using the Sackville Community Sharing Cupboard is not tracked, but since April 1 this year, Patterson says the Food Bank has had 27 new families sign up for help. The previous year saw 76 new households join, on top of the 200 households already signed up.

“Those were all brand new families to our program,” says Patterson. “We’ve been told that we’re not considered a small food bank anymore, because we have so many clients, and so much usage.”

The same thing that is driving increased food bank usage is also driving increased costs to run the food bank: food price inflation. “Last year, we spent $50,000, more than we did the previous year on groceries,” says Patterson. “We’re on course to spend at least that much again… And then we have the cupboard on top of that.”

“It’s scary when you look at our budget and where we’re going with this,” says Patterson.

The Food Bank relies on regular deliveries from Food Depot Alimentaire, some funding from the national food banks organization, and a small amount of funding from the province, says Patterson. It also relies heavily on local donors and fundraising.

“Right now we’re doing well, but it can’t go on forever,” says Patterson. “Because we’re going to be spending all of our savings on food, just on food, if we don’t get some more help.”