SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The amount of food handed out by the Yellowknife Food Bank has nearly doubled since December and the organization could be in trouble once September rolls around, its president said.

The food bank opens its doors every two weeks, offering bags of food to people who need them. This year they are averaging between 140 and 200 bags every second Saturday, almost double from last year when they averaged 80 to 90 bags.

Dave Ritchie, president of the Yellowknife Food Bank, said use of the food bank has increased almost two-fold since December, and he's concerned the group may have to cut back on the amount of food they can hand out if the high use continues into the fall. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

Dave Ritchie, president of the Yellowknife Food Bank, said since he became president seven years ago, the situation is the worst he's seen. Last year, Ritchie said they averaged 300 people every two weeks, but have seen their numbers rise to between 400 and 500, indicating it's half adult and half children.

"We're almost double what we used to be," Ritchie said. "Since New Year's we're giving out a lot more."

Ritchie said they are concerned about the increase. The food bank budgets $4,000 a month for groceries, but since the recent increase they are spending $5,000 monthly, a 20 per cent rise and according to Ritchie, it's still climbing

"We're trying to keep it down to $5,000 a month, but we've had to go over that the last two," he said. "It's putting the strain on.

"We're OKy for the summer, but if this demand keeps up in the fall we're going to be concerned."

Ritchie said if the high demand continues through to September, they might have to cut back on how much food they put in the grocery bags to keep costs down.

All funding to maintain the food bank comes by donation, including a large portion from the Yellowknife Direct Co-op, but the recent economic downturn has caused a decrease in funding.

"We're still getting a lot of money coming in, but not as much as we used to," said Ritchie, adding they are very appreciative of the money they do get.

"We still get a lot from the Co-op, but not as much as we used to since they started giving money to other groups in the city."

In a press release, Food Banks Canada said tough economic times have caused an increase in use of almost 20 per cent across the country. In 2008, more than 700,000 Canadians used food banks on a monthly basis.

Ritchie said about half the people using the food bank are single parent families; the other half are people struggling financially.

"We have some individuals on social assistance or who are in fixed or low income situations," Ritchie said, adding people aren't required to divulge information to food bank employees when they use the service. "We also have some old and retired people coming in who are on fixed income or their pension doesn't make ends meet."

Because of the increase, Ritchie said the food bank had to advertise for more volunteers to get bags prepared to meet the demand.

"We usually have two people there at a time and it's been busier than they can handle so we need at least three there."

City councillor Shelagh Montgomery said the increase is likely due to the current economic situation in the city and finds it a concern.

"It's an indication that we have a growing situation of 'haves' and 'have-nots' in our community," said Montgomery.

"We hear so often how prosperous we are in Yellowknife and yet these numbers are a reflection of the large income gap in our city."

While many people are doing well financially, Montgomery said a large portion of the population struggle to make ends meet, despite regular jobs.

Montgomery said she is interested in exploring ways to provide support or public outreach to the thinly-spread food bank.