500 Thanksgiving turkeys donated to those in need as inflation and rising gas prices put pressure on food banks

Five hundred turkeys and 100 chickens were handed out by CUPE Local 543 members for the ninth year on Thursday to help residents enjoy a Thanksgiving Day Celebration.

“We're happy to be here to do these stop gap measures is what I would suggest it is but certainly we need actually lasting solutions,” said Dave Petten, president of CUPE Local 543.

While Local 543 helped fill a food deficit Thursday, UHC Hub officials say inflation and gas prices are putting severe pressure on their resources and increasing the need in the community

“We have a 64 per cent increase,” said Lynda Davidson, food bank coordinator. “We're serving about 1,300 households a week so when we say there is a need, our numbers speak volumes.”

There are a lot of empty boxes and other boxes full of supplies. Food is not in abundance at the main hub. There is a lot at the storage facility at the Roundhouse Centre but officials say if donations were to stop today there's enough food to last four to six weeks.

“We're reaching out to our community so we don't run out,” said Ali Bazzi, Food Rescue Manager.

Before the pandemic the UHC would see about a hundred families a day. That number is now over 200. The organization supplies 14 other food banks. “I don't know how they expect us to live if they keep raising the gas prices, everything,” said Liz Robillard, who dropped in with a friend to pick up a turkey.

Davidson says there are people of all walks of life including first time food bank user needing the help of the UHC.

“And we're seeing the people that used to donate actually now walking through our door,” she said.

Because of the increased demand the UHC can't give what it used to.

“We'd love to serve people every week or whenever we need to but we've had to restrict and kinda make sure that we're able to give some kind of food when they do come in,” Davison said.

The UHC is hoping the community will step up and help fill the shelves through donations or by holding food drives at work.

“That would be wonderful,” she said.