SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Food bank use in Canada's three territories has increased by 70 per cent over the course of the recession, stretching resources thin, according to Food Banks Canada, and two charitable food organizations in Yellowknife will now be receiving some extra help from the national charity.

Volunteer Food Rescue driver Stewart Gibson loads up a van full of food for different organizations throughout the city on Tuesday. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

The Yellowknife Salvation Army Food Bank will be receiving almost $43,600 while Food Rescue will be given $5,000.

The Whitehorse Food Bank Society and Dawson Shelter Society Food Bank in the Yukon and Niqinik Nuatsivik Nunavut Food Bank in Iqaluit are also receiving part of the $121,200 being distributed among the territories.

The funds will allow Yellowknife's Salvation Army to purchase more food for its food bank, and then will be passed along to those in need, according to Brian Birch, Director of Programs at the Salvation Army Church, Brian Birch.

"It was also be alloted for other things – education for the food bank, workshops to improve our staff," said Birch.

There are three full-time staff members and a handful of volunteers that run the food bank, which is open five days a week, and on weekends when there are emergency needs.

"The use jumps up and down. Some days, especially when it comes to peak areas getting close to the wintertime and Christmas, we definitely put quite a bit of our own money in to that to make sure that everything is available," said Birch.

"It was so good just to get this amount, but just to know that they understand that there is a big need in the North."

Ruby Trudel of Food Rescue said. along with the $5,000 from the national charitable organization, The Brick also made a $1,500 donation this past week.

She said Food Rescue doesn't purchase food, but takes food that is no longer able to be sold at grocery stores and warehouses and delivers it to organizations in town which need it.

"Usually it's passed its best-before label or packaging has been damaged. We refresh the food and then we donate it to organizations. The organizations that we donate to are the distributors of the food to the people in need," said Trudel.

She said although the food taken in and then distributed out by Food Rescue is free, the organization still has expenses.

"There's gas for our van and lighting for our facility and heating for our facility and that kind of thing, to enable us to do the work that we do," said Trudel.

She said Food Rescue is 100 per cent volunteer-based with a total of about 24 active volunteers.

"The wonderful thing about receiving funding is that we don't have to focus on fundraising. We can focus on the work that we want to do. We're able to focus on our purpose," she said.

The Yellowknife Food Bank does not have charitable status, therefore did not receive funding from Food Banks Canada.

The donations to the food banks come from donations from a $1.5-million settlement in a 2007 class-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for vitamin price-fixing.

Katherine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada said the support will allow recipient food banks to undertake essential work related to charitable food programs, nutrition research or education, and other client services.

"We are very pleased to be able to distribute these funds to food banks in areas with very high rates of food insecurity, and that do not have access to a large funding base," said Schmidt in a press release.

"We know that Northern communities are hugely supportive of their food banks, and we're glad to be able to provide support to these communities."

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