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By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

CASH OR FOOD DONATIONS NEEDED

Salvation Army food bank in need of donations amidst increased demand

Oct 11, 2024 | 4:22 PM

Thanksgiving may be a holiday of plenty for the majority of Red Deerians, but this year, there is an increasing number of community members who need assistance keeping their families’ bellies full day-to-day, let alone on this day of feasting.

Speaking on behalf of The Salvation Army Red Deer, Paula Carpenter, coordinator of community ministries, shared that the organization has been seeing an unprecedented number of unhoused families needing the support of its services.

“The number of unhoused families — we’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s not families that have other mitigating factors that are causing homelessness, it is a financial need issue,” said Carpenter. “These are families that people wouldn’t have any idea are unhoused: they are driving to school and dropping children off to go to school, and they’re going to work, and they’re living in their minivan. It’s a new demographic that we’ve not seen before, which creates additional needs.”

Most families get referred to the Red Deer Food Bank first, Carpenter explained, but frequently need to access the Salvation Army’s food bank program to supplement the time between their once-per-month hampers. She said that in February 2024, they served 545 clients through their hamper program. By September, that number nearly doubled to 1,003.

The organization also offers a School Weekend Meal Program that sends children home with a weekend’s worth of food, all of which is designed to be preparable by someone five-years-old and up, without adult assistance. Through this program, the non-profit is currently serving about 303 children per week, which amounts to about 8,400 meals per month.

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In September 2023, this was closer to 199 students, and Carpenter said the need is growing still, as more and more schools have been reaching out for assistance. When the program began in 2014, there was one school partner. Now, the program has more than 30 partners spread throughout Red Deer, Penhold, Blackfalds, and Innisfail.

“We’ve been finding ourselves in uncharted waters because we have schools reaching out to us that have never been part of our program before, and with already strained funds, our capacity to serve those additional schools has come into question,” she said.

The increased demand for food security has led to the Salvation Army having to suspend other programs, Carpenter said, such as the assistance it provided with utility expenses, antibiotics, and beds.

While this increased demand has been a rising issue all year long, Carpenter said the group will especially see an increase in demand on Tuesday, Oct. 15, when they open after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Amidst all these challenges, Carpenter said the organization is in critical need of community support, whether that be through cash or food donations.

“There are a lot of families that are really struggling right now in Red Deer and the surrounding area, and they’re very much needing the rest of the community to lift them up during this time and assist to make sure everybody is being fed,” she said. “That’s the bottom line; we don’t want children in a province as wealthy as what Alberta is to be going home to empty fridges and empty cupboards, and not having food in their bellies through the weekend.”

Cash donations can be made online.

Families in need of food for the holiday can explore the Red Deer Food Map to see available services in the area, a tool created by the Red Deer Food Bank.

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