Q: Can you tell me a bit about what Feed Nova Scotia does?
A: We are a food distribution agency. Food donations come to us, and we distribute the food to our 160 member organizations. We ship to everything from drop-in centres, like the Mainline Clinic, to shelters like Bryony House, to soup kitchens and food banks.
Q: How do you decide how much food to distribute to each member organization?
A: We decide what food goes where based on the type of food and the hunger population that is served by the organization. The hunger population is based on a national survey that’s done every March, which determines how many people are using food banks across the country. That information is used in a number of ways. We use it as a fair way of distributing the food: if a food bank feeds three percent of the hunger population, we ship it three percent of the food that is available.
Q: when do you get the most donations?
A: The Christmas season is definitely our busiest time. Christmas seems to bring an awareness of the problem and people really want to help those who are less fortunate. We get 45 to 55 percent of our financial donations at that time of year. In terms of food, we’re getting donations of root vegetables from farmers, donation bins in grocery stores are busier. But donations drop drastically in the summer months.
Q: Why do you think donations decrease?
A: There are several reasons: the commercial growers are waiting for their harvests, people are away on vacation so grocery store donations drop off and I think there’s a sense among the population that when the weather is nicer, people should be better able to take care of themselves. But that isn’t true. The problems food bank users have in the winter are still present in the summer.
Q: When is demand at its highest?
A: August is our busiest month by far. There is a fair bit of mobility during the summer months, but in August families are trying to get their kids settled for school. That means they need clothes, they need school supplies, and when money is tight, that doesn’t leave much left for groceries.
Q: how can the average person help?
A: People neglect to think of the impact that even one can of food can have. Even if you’re just buying one extra can of healthy food a week and putting it in the donation bin at the grocery store, that can of food ends up in someone’s kitchen each week. Even if everyone at your office donates just one dollar for casual day, that means a grocery order is going out to the food bank in Dominion, Cape Breton, or Yarmouth. Individual contributions can be small…but together, they can make a big difference.
Find more ways to help at www.feednovascotia.ca
This article appears in Aug 3-9, 2006.