NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
A new report published by Food Banks Canada is calling the rate of hunger in the North an emergency.

Stacey Van Metre with the Yellowknife Salvation Army says cost of living in the North is a major factor in the severity of Northern food insecurity. - NNSL file photo

Hunger Count 2013 is an annual report examining food security throughout Canada. This year's report found that many northerners are not getting enough to eat.

"Food insecurity in the North, and particularly in the Arctic, is a dire public health emergency," the report stated.

Statistics in the report, which list the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut in one category, show that food banks in the territories assisted 3,522 people in March 2013. Thirty-eight per cent of them were children. In March 2012, 2,316 people used food banks in the territories. In 2008, the number of people using food banks was 1,340.

Nationally, a little more than two per cent of Canadians accessed food banks across the country.

Marzena Gersho, director of communications for Food Banks Canada, said the increase is two-fold. Over the years, more food banks and other organizations in the territories have been supplying numbers to Food Banks Canada for the report, which contributes to the boost in numbers.

But Gersho said the numbers reflect that many Northerners require help feeding their families.

"We know there is a very high need for the territories," she said.

Margaret Miller, treasurer at the Inuvik Food Bank, said the number of clients using the food bank has increased over the past year.

"We give out an average of 100 bags a week now, whereas it used to be 50 or 60," she said. "We've seen a dramatic increase this year in people requiring our services."

Miller said fortunately, donations have been keeping up with demand.

"We have had tremendous support, which we certainly do appreciate," she said.

But Miller said many of this year's larger donations were one-time events.

Two groups in Inuvik made anonymous donations to the food bank before leaving town.

"We know this won't last," Miller said.

Miller said she doesn't know why more people have been using the food bank this year, but more people becoming aware of the service might be contributing to higher numbers.

She said there have also been a few layoffs in the community, as well as individuals becoming ill and being unable to work for a time.

Miller said this year Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday, which is the day the food bank is open for pickup. She said five volunteers have stepped forward and offered to spend the afternoon and evening distributing food hampers.

"We're putting signs up in the food bank saying yes, we will be open because it's a regular pickup day for a lot of our clients," she said.

Stacey Van Metre, community co-ordinator at the Yellowknife Salvation Army, said she agreed with the report's findings.

Van Metre said the cost of living in the North is the biggest contributor to food insecurity. She said in Yellowknife, even couples with jobs sometimes find themselves unable to pay all of their bills, rent and food costs.

"Even if they both are working, the rent takes almost their full cheque," she said.

For people on financial assistance, food banks are vital to survival, Van Metre added.

According to the report, provincial and territorial governments across Canada regularly send people on income support who are looking for help to food banks.

"Food banks across Canada have unfortunately become unofficial extensions of provincial social assistance programs," the report stated. "During times of personal financial crisis, government offices routinely refer welfare recipients to food banks rather than provide emergency financial support."

Van Metre said she has seen it first hand.

"Low income families, when they're on income support they get bare necessities," she said. "If they're receiving income support and they run out of food, they refer them to us."

Gersho said the money families receive from income support simply isn't enough to cover all of their expenses.

"When you look at some regions, the amounts that individuals are getting are so low, and yet we know that just the base cost of living is sometimes double what these individuals get," she said. "I think it's a challenge in that these centres are kind of directing people to other alternative supports, because the resources just aren't enough to provide those base cost living expenses."

Van Metre said while the majority of her food bank experience has taken place in Yellowknife, she knows outlying communities face similar challenges.

"Lack of work would be a huge factor for the smaller ones I believe, isolation," she said. "Definitely, food costs in the smaller communities. I know their food is outrageously priced."

Gersho said because so many Northern families struggle to put food on the table, fewer families are in the position to help others.

"You don't really have a good resource to tap into to support those that are in need, because there are significantly more people that are living with food insecurity," she said.

Christmas is an especially important time of year for food banks in the North, Van Metre said.

For many families, Christmas celebrations wouldn't happen without the food and toys from the Salvation Army. Hampers include turkeys and all the trimmings for Christmas dinner and enough nutritious food for a week.

"It is needed and it makes Christmas," she said. "Otherwise, people wouldn't be having a Christmas at all. It really assists the families."

Last month, Salvation Army staff were concerned about a lack of donations for the organization's Christmas hamper program. The program creates food and toy hampers for families in Yellowknife and 11 communities in the Northwest Territories.

"Overall, I would say the beginning is always extremely slow," she said. "This year was slower and I don't know why."

But Van Metre said after doing a few radio interviews and getting the word out, the community stepped up to the plate.

"The response was almost immediate," she said. "We had donations pouring in."

Van Metre said the hampers will be distributed in the city and throughout the territory on Dec. 16, and more donations are appreciated.

Toys are especially needed, she added.

Van Metre said she and staff at the Salvation Army wanted to thank those who donated

"It's been amazing, people stepping forward," she said. "It was wonderful."

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