Salvation Army food bank in need of donations amidst increased demand
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.