Many in Saskatchewan are sharing during the Day of Caring

The Regina and Saskatoon food banks are seeing the benefit of Saskatchewan generosity.

As of 5 p.m., Rawlco Radio’s Day of Caring had raised $1,475,405 for the two food banks.

It’s in response to the pressure being felt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demand is already up seven per cent in Regina and four per cent in Saskatoon. If that keeps increasing, the food banks estimate they’ll each have a shortfall of one million meals per month.

“The service that our food banks offer in Saskatoon and Regina and across this province are important each and every day of the year,” Premier Scott Moe said Tuesday on Gormley. “They most certainly are providing that hand up to individuals on a day or a week where they may need it.

“It’s even more so important when you have the upset in our economy due to the COVID-19 health-care crisis. We hear the numbers of people that are applying for EI, have been laid off temporarily due to a number of businesses in our community that have slowed down or just not operating for a number of weeks.”

The pressures on families with so many off work and school nutrition programs cancelled is starting to be felt at the food bank.

More than 40 per cent of the people served by the food banks are children. Without school nutrition programs, it’s going to mean an extra strain on family resources.

But with people in stores less often, that’s likely to mean fewer food donations. So food banks expect to need to buy more food.

The food banks are asking for donations of money to buy food in bulk and get it out to people. COVID-19 is changing the way emergency food will be provided to those most in need.

To respect social distancing, the food banks will create pop-up locations and deliver door to door. There will also be ‘to-go’ hampers for pickup.

For the foreseeable future, food banks will operate with far fewer volunteers and will need to hire temporary staff to help get all this done.

Rawlco Radio got it started Tuesday with a $1-million donation between the Regina and Saskatoon food banks. Groups and businesses also pitched in.

Canada Life announced a $10,000 donation that was matched by Cargill, and the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and Sherwood Co-op also provided a donation.

You can help by donating online (www.saskatoonfoodbank.org or at www.reginafoodbank.ca). Phone capabilities are limited, so the food banks request all donations and questions go to their websites.

The need isn’t restricted to Regina and Saskatoon. Rural food banks are facing similar pressures.

“It becomes all the more incumbent on us that can to provide a donation, or provide some time, provide whatever we can to ensure these services can continue to be offered in our community,” Moe said. “This is a measure of who we are as a society.”

Volunteers call things ‘hectic’

“It’s a really hectic time right now,” explained Raylynn Pritchard.

She and Jenna Hamilton have been helping out at the food bank for about two weeks, ever since the COVID-19 public health measures put a damper on what they could do at work.

Pritchard said there are people calling all the time.

“If Jenna and I are not in, there’s just the two ladies at the front desk, and they’ve got four phones going constantly at the front there,” Pritchard said.

Hamilton said they answer hundreds of calls a day trying to help people and set up food hamper deliveries.

“I think that a lot of people that call here are just happy that the food bank’s still open, to be honest,” she said. “We have calls every day asking if it’s still open, and it is — and (the food bank is) still accepting new clients every day.”

There are a lot of people who are new to the services, as well as people who’ve used it before who are coming back.

“We’ve received a lot of calls from old clients needing help right away because they’ve been laid off because of COVID-19,” said Pritchard.

Pritchard called the people who work at the food bank amazing.

“We have people coming in that shouldn’t be in here or missed an appointment or need an emergency hamper. And they are scrambling behind the scenes to make sure that people aren’t walking out of here empty-handed. They’re feeding as many people as they possible can,” said Pritchard.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick