Hunger is on the rise in Flin Flon and area.
The Lord’s Bounty Food Bank is coming off one of its busiest years yet, with 101 new clients passing through the doors in 2014-15.
“We always hope that our services aren’t needed, but in real life it looks like we’re going to be around for a while yet,” said Dennis Hydamaka, food distribution chairman for the non-profit organization.
For the year ended Sept. 30, the food bank had 494 clients, up 101 people, or 26 per cent, from 2013-14.
What’s behind the increase? Hydamaka cites factors such as increased heating fuel, gas and grocery costs, and rising rents.
Hydamaka said he is aware of one uptown Flin Flon home whose rent more than doubled, from $400 a month to $820, over the past two years.
While rent controls apply to most Flin Flon rental residences, he pointed out that landlords can raise rents by any amount between tenants.
On the plus side, the number of meals distributed to food bank clients increased a modest three per cent, for a total of 14,970 meals in 2014-15.
Hydamaka said the shelves are currently well stocked and that he’s confident the food bank can continue to meet the demand.
That said, the charity has suffered financially, forced to remove “extras” such as powdered milk and coffee from the groceries it purchases to supplement food donations.
“It’s better to give a person a can of beans than some coffee,” Hydamaka said.
In terms of client visits, 2014-15 marked the sixth-busiest year for the food bank in its 24-year history, and the most active since 2011-12.
Hydamaka is careful not to forecast trends in year-over-year increases.
“It goes up and down,” he said of the demand. “We might ride high for a couple of years and then…it will drop.”
In 2014-15, nearly half (47 per cent) of food bank clients were children and teenagers. Among all clients, more than one in five (21 per cent) were under the age of 6.
The lion’s share of clients (66 per cent) were single people, followed by families (16 per cent), single parents (11 per cent) and couples (seven per cent).
Most clients (78 per cent) lived in Flin Flon. Clients also came from Denare Beach (15 per cent) and Creighton (seven per cent).
In general, clients are allowed to visit the food bank twice a month for a hamper that contains food for two days for each person in need.
The most destitute clients are permitted to visit weekly until their situation improves. All clients must provide proof of income.
2014-15 at a glance
Lord’s Bounty Food Bank
Total clients 494
Clients under the age of 13 179
Clients who are seniors 26
Food hampers provided 1,453
Meals provided 4,970
Total expenses $27,560
Amount spent on food $10,355
Amount spent on rent $9,300
Year-over-year income drop $7,000
