Thursday November 10, 2022 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
[See November 10 food drive event report & photos]
The Belmont Secondary School Fall Food Drive Community drop-off event is this evening 4 to 7 pm.
The school is located at 3041 Langford Lake Road in the Westhills area of Langford. There is usually ample parking in the evenings.
SD62 leadership students will be outside the front doors of the school to collect non-perishable food items for the Goldstream Food Bank.
The outdoor drop-off is a COVID/flu season consideration. In previous years, items were brought indoors.
All week:
Students have been collecting food items for the bank week, with tonight’s community event being the final event.
Food bank use:
Food security for the broader community is of concern as high inflation rates continue.
Reportedly the use of food banks is increasing across Canada.
Food banks don’t always receive the highest quality goods by donation. Most food banks top up their inventory with fresh produce and bulk-buy purchase of other goods directly from grocery stores.
Cost of living:
The cost of living on Vancouver Island and across Canada has increased substantially in the past year due to inflation.
Most openly the costs increases are seen in the prices of food and grocery as well as gasoline (therefore transportation) and heating fuel.
Mortgage interest rates have also gone up due to increases in the Bank of Canada interest rates which the major banks pass on to customers. Credit card companies are also increasing their rates.
Global impacts include the supply chain interruptions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
There are also continuing COVID-related supply chain interruptions (including zero-COVID policy in China which has slowed down production of items like batteries and computer chips that are included in many manufactured items in North America).
BC directions:
This week BC Agriculture and Food Minister Lana Popham said the provincial government is working on ways to help further support families as food costs rise.
In the summer ‘nutrition coupons‘ are given out for use at farmers markets.
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. has covered issues of food security and the cost of living throughout her writing career. She is the editor and publisher of Island Social Trends, based out of Langford, BC.
===== RELATED:
Food Security Archive (Island Social Trends)
Steps forward in assessing food security (October 25, 2022)
Food security on Thanksgiving weekend 2022 (October 10, 2022)
Food garden at Belmont Secondary for learning and growing (September 22, 2022)
BC consumers & farmers benefit by food coupon increase (June 5, 2022)