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INUVIK
Demand for assistance from the Inuvik Food Bank has increased so much that it is providing twice the amount of food to its clients this summer compared to last year.

Food bank volunteers, from left, Mary Aulin, Kathy Arthur and Margaret Miller display the basic bag of goods for food bank clients. The shelves are much barer after an extremely busy Wednesday night. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL Photo

The facility is averaging 50 to 60 bags of canned and dried goods each Wednesday night, and on Aug. 3 it hit 65 bags. Last year the volume was closer to 25 to 35 bags per week.

"People are always needing," said Margaret Miller, treasurer of the food bank. "Hunger doesn't recognize seasons."

Miller doesn't know why the number has increased, but thinks word has spread about the food bank and its new location, behind Inuvik Works and Next to New. It moved there in April 2010, from its previous location near the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.

Depending on the number of family members, clients receive one, two or three basic bags containing cans of fruit, vegetables, beans, soup, pasta sauce and packages of spaghetti, rice and Kraft Dinner, in total worth $20 per bag.

The food bank also provides people with tea, coffee, sugar, milk, cereal, stew and tuna thanks to extra fundraising from bingos. The total value of food people receive is over $50.

Since June 1, the bank has handed out 432 bags of food. In July they gave away over $15,000 worth of food. Without the bingo fundraisers, sponsors, cash donations and help from the community, it would not be possible to operate the food bank.

"We had some good bingos last fall and it's because of the bingos we're able to provide the extras," Miller said. "Without the sponsors, we would not survive."

Clients can use the food bank once every two weeks, but if someone comes two weeks in a row they will not be turned away. It operates on a trust basis and although the food bank keeps track of who comes and when, there are no checks in place to make sure the food is being properly consumed and not abused.

"The majority of people who come here need it," Miller said. "It's not our job to police it. We're not judgmental. You're not going to follow these people to see what they're doing with food."

A range of customers use the food bank, including large families, single men, single mothers, students and elders. Some people come only when they've gone through a tough spot and need a bit of help, while others are regular customers.

Volunteers are needed to work the two hour shifts on Wednesday nights, from 6 to 8 p.m.

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