Volunteers at the Medicine Hat Food Bank prepare packages for drive-thru pickup Monday afternoon. (CHAT News photo).

By Alex McCuaig

Programming continuing

Food Bank demand evens out but food insecurity still an issue

Jun 15, 2020 | 4:58 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Medicine Hat & District Food Bank has long seen ups and downs to its operation in the city but the past few months under COVID-19, those have been surges and lulls.

Executive director Celina Symmonds says the tens of millions in federal grants for food banks help but the value of the current pandemic might not come with a pricetag.

“Something that I think that will come out of COVID is that everyone in our community has now experienced some sort of food insecurity,” said Symmonds. “We’ve been talking about food insecurity in our community for many, many years but I think what has come out of this is we’ve all walked into the grocery store and not been able to buy the thing we were looking for . . . And that is what our families experience every single day.”

Symmonds says when the pandemic hit Alberta, the local food bank experienced a spike in demand followed by a slowing down.

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They are currently supplying food to between 70 and 80 families daily.

Symmonds says despite the pandemic closing schools, the food bank is continuing to offer its Brown Bag Lunch Program.