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Goldstream Food Bank struggling to keep shelves stocked

More mouths to feed at home during the day means need is greater
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Terry Short

Summer is a tough time of year for the Goldstream Food Bank.

With children and youth finished school and home more often, the need becomes even greater, says food bank society president and volunteer co-ordinator Gayle Ireland.

“I’ve had crying mothers in where they’ve had a pound of hamburger in the fridge for dinner and they come home and their kid had made tacos or something for their friends,” she said. “People are hungry all year round and the need is just as great if not more at this time.”

The food bank, which operates out of the basement of the Langford Legion on Station Avenue, has used up the majority of its Christmas stock, Ireland said. Items with more nutritional value are in short supply – like hearty soups, pasta dinners and other “luxuries” that are considered bonus items in hampers.

“For those people who may be living out in the bush, it’s nice to give people a pasta or meatball dinner that they can just pop the top off and eat.”

Keeping the simple things on hand can also be difficult.

“We’re totally out of coffee,” Ireland said.

The food bank serves the equivalent of 10,000 people a year, roughly 800 to 900 a month, and 32 per cent of those fed are children, Ireland said.

Donations of food can be made at the warehouse the first three Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the month, or at bins in local supermarkets. Cash donations, which are tax deductible and allow the food bank to purchase more food than a person off the street, can be dropped off at those times or mailed to: Goldstream Food Bank, Westshore Town Centre, PO Box 28122, Victoria B.C., V9B 6K8.

Volunteers are always needed as well. Call 250-474-4443 to arrange to meet with Ireland.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com