Food insecurity continues to be a growing problem across BC including Prince George.
According to a survey from the University of Toronto, nearly 15% of provincial households suffered from food insecurity in 2021, a point below the national average of 16%.
Within our community, local food banks are seeing a spike in foot traffic.
Bernie Goold with the St. Vincent de Paul Society told MyPGNow.com they’ve seen an overflow of customers since the spring.
“From probably March on, we are up over 25% in family hampers and we have changed our ways. We gave them out over COVID and people are now entitled to a hamper once a month.”
She adds between 40 to 45 food hampers every month are going to seniors.
“Their income is not keeping up with inflation,” added Gould.
“So many of these people built our community and now they are not able to provide enough food for nutritional value. It’s really sad that we have a big increase in our hampers as we now give out fruit and vegetable bags each week.”
“Fresh fruit and vegetables are now becoming a luxury for many families and it’s sad.”
According to Stats Canada, food prices are up nearly 10% when compared to July of 2021.
July’s Consumer Price Index rose by 7.6 percent annually, down from the 8.1 percent recorded as of June – the first drop in more than two years.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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