Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 23/02) - The Northwest Territories boasts the highest employment rate in the country. However, we also have the second-highest rate of children using food banks, according to a national study by the Canadian Association of Food Banks.

The Yellowknife Food Bank operates from the Calvary Baptist Church basement every second Saturday. The bank needs more protein-rich foods like cheese and canned meat, said president Dave Ritchie. - Jennifer McPhee/NNSL photo

The Hunger Count report, a survey of food banks across Canada, found that despite government promises to end hunger in Canada, food bank use has increased by 12.4 per cent since 1997 and 4.1 per cent since last year.

Nationally, 40.8 per cent of food bank recipients were children. But in the Northwest Territories, 46.5 per cent of those using food banks are children.

The Yellowknife Food Bank participated in the survey, but doesn't keep much data of its own.

"Our policy is no questions asked," said president Dave Ritchie. "We don't demand a lot of information from people."

But Ritchie noticed a small increase over the past year, especially among single parent families with children.

The Yellowknife Food Bank is open every second Saturday.

"We wouldn't have enough food to open more than that," he explained. "We spend $35,000 to $40,000 a year buying groceries so there's a limit to what you can do with that."

Ritchie's figures match closely with the study.

"We feed between 250 and 300 people every two weeks," he said. "Just under half of that are children."

"When I first joined the food bank three years ago, we gave out 70 bags of groceries (on Saturday). Now it's closer to 80."

A quick glance at the food bank's shelves reveal the bank stocks mostly canned and boxed foods like Kraft dinner, beans and soup. Some of the shelves are bare and a look inside two fridges shows one is empty, and the other holds just a few big blocks of margarine.

"We're just giving them the basic stuff," said Ritchie. "We don't have a lot of cheese and canned meat."

A parent with three children receives one bag of groceries, worth about $17 or $18 dollars. Families with more than three children receive an extra bag. A smaller bag with baking goods like salt, margarine and sugar is also available.

Two types of people generally use the food bank, said Ritchie. Older people on fixed incomes or pensions and single parent families on income support.

He estimates the number of people who use the food bank when they don't need it rests between 10 and 15 per cent.

"That leaves 85 to 90 per cent who really need it."

The Salvation Army also operates a food bank and a twice-daily meal program. When asked about the high number of children using food banks in the territory, Capt. Al Hoeft is slightly skeptical.

"My only question with that stat is the kids never show up, so you never know how many kids are involved," he said.

"Sometimes people will tell you their families are larger than they really are... it does skew the stats a little bit.

Hoeft doesn't think the number of people using the Salvation Army's food bank is increasing.

"I'd probably say no. But they certainly aren't diminishing at any rate either."