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Food bank fills the shelves
Large donation a good boost but volunteer says it won't last long

Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, October 22, 2015

INUVIK
Angela McInnes arrives at the Inuvik Food Bank at 5:40 p.m. Oct. 14. The doors only officially open at 6 but she is followed in by her first customer of the night. Right away, the first person seeking food is followed by dozens more.

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Kenzie McInnes restocks shelves at the Inuvik Food Bank Oct. 14. While about half the space is filled with a hefty donation from Northern Transportation Company Ltd., the side that holds staples like canned food and UHT milk is quickly emptying. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo

The food bank received a donation from Northern Transportation Company Ltd. (NTCL) earlier this month, food coming off the barges at the end of the season. The donations - including everything from jam, Ritz crackers and Bisquick to copious amounts of breakfast cereal and a lot of frozen meat - line the shelves in about half the trailer, and fill the freezer several layers deep. McInnes, a volunteer with the organization, said they would be lucky if it lasted six weeks.

What the donation didn't contain were the staples that are the bread and butter of the food bank - things like UHT milk, canned vegetables, canned meat, rice and pasta.

"We just spent $13,000 in August on a shipment and we're nearly all out," said McInnes. "Now we're running out of staples."

The way it works is that customers receive one box of staples for every two people in their household, plus four items they can choose from the shelves of extra products.

Very few customers went home with only one box Oct. 14. McInnes said at this time last year, the food bank distributed about 80 boxes every week but that number is trending up. She handed out 112 boxes on Oct. 14. That number is not an anomaly, she added, flipping through a notebook with tally-marks representing customers. Numbers in the low hundreds have been common for a few months.

"The thing I noticed at the beginning of the school year, there have been lots and lots of students coming out," McInnes said. "There are also lots of single moms I've never seen before."

While most customers know the routine, a few were clearly looking for a bit of direction as they arrived. When they filed towards the desk to have their names checked, then back toward the counter to get boxes of staples, one woman stepped in and asked where to go and what to do. When she got to the counter she said thank you.

"This is my first time coming here," she said. "You don't know how close you are to needing this, and then you do."

The food bank doesn't receive federal funding and relies on local bingos and donations to keep the lights on and the shelves full. The NTCL donation came in two parts, one of dry goods and the other of frozen food awaiting a large freezer. McInnes said the average bingo brings in about $8,000, which only covers a portion of only one shipment of staples.

People seeking help fill the small trailer for two solid hours, having to periodically be reminded to close the door behind them. Many come with children, the vast majority come representing larger families. Some come with rides, some call cabs, many walk or ride bicycles, even on icy roads.

Usage is up 25 per cent over this time last year, with new faces heading to the food bank for help. McInnes said, however, funding sources are hardly keeping up with that increase.

"We're going to have to find new ways to fund this place."

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