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Sustaining the food bank

Let us preface this editorial by saying the Westlock and District Food Bank is an essential community service and the volunteers who not only run it, but beat the bushes for donations, are equally indispensable.

Let us preface this editorial by saying the Westlock and District Food Bank is an essential community service and the volunteers who not only run it, but beat the bushes for donations, are equally indispensable.

But food banks were created as a stopgap for folks that needed a helping hand to get by, a number that continues to grow locally as the bank now serves 500 clients monthly, a nearly 100 per cent increase over 2016.

So with those figures in mind, perhaps it’s time to rethink how the bank works, because addressing why people are going hungry and can’t afford their groceries is an issue that needs to be dealt with by our federal and provincial politicians.

We seem to be stuck in a never-ending donation cycle that doesn’t really solve the issue at hand, which is the bank’s sustainability.

Food and cash donations flood in at Christmas time, but come summer the stock dwindles and the shelves sit empty.

Can we come up with more innovative way to ensure the shelves stay full? There are so many great community organizations that exist, so maybe the answer lies in collaboration.

For example, Westlock has a community garden. Why not teach the school kids about environmental sustainability and community service by having them plant and tend to the garden so that the food bank can have fresh and healthy produce? That way they’re depending less on the already swamped volunteers.

Another option is to provide garden plots to food bank users at a subsidized rate. Obviously, that is more of a long-term commitment and the results are not immediate, so another option could come via the social-enterprise route. Call it a hand up, not a hand out.

Let’s utilize that neighbourly mindset and a do-it-yourself attitude and open a little shop, or cafe where the proceeds go towards the food bank.

This store could be run by volunteers, but since volunteers only have so much time to give, what about working with WIN or WJS so that the people they serve can get involved and feel empowered?

If Westlock wants to innovate, why not start with the food bank.

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