Province announces funding for Manitoba food banks
Posted December 20, 2022 2:56 pm.
The Manitoba government has announced that it will be providing over $4 million to food banks across the province as part of their affordability package program to help support families struggling with food insecurity.
The province selected 29 organizations to receive the funding, including the Bear Clan Patrol, Food Matters Manitoba, and West Central Women’s Resource Centre among many others.
“We look back on the year that was, we know that Manitobans have been through a lot. From the global pandemic to flooding, the unjust war on Ukraine and inflation, the list goes on,” said Rochelle Squires, Minister of Families.
“So once all the food security funds were allocated, we recognized there was a growing demand for even more assistance especially during the holiday season and throughout the cold winter months.”
Harvest Manitoba will be in charge of allocating the extra $3 million to food banks throughout the province. The money will be going towards food purchasing, transportation and other costs depending on the community’s needs.
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“We need all the help of all Manitobans at this time because the need that we are facing is absolutely unprecedented,” explained Vince Barletta, CEO of Harvest Manitoba.
According to a report from Harvest Manitoba, demand for food banks have increased by 40 per cent since last year. Barletta says the organization also served around 90,000 people, including 15,000 children.
“That face of the food bank is also changing, we’re seeing 25 per cent of food bank users in Manitoba are people with jobs and more kids than ever before.”
Despite the extra funding, Barletta says that he’s hoping that the demand for food banks go down.
“We can’t be back next year having this same announcement. We have to get the numbers going the other way.”
