Food donations at Neighbour to Neighbour Centre have dropped off by as much as 50 per cent this month, just as the Athens Street food bank heads into its busiest period.

“I’m worried,” said operational manager Sara Collyer, who noted donations dropped off rapidly after a spike around Halloween.

“I know for a fact that October-November we’re down somewhere in the neighbourhood of 70-80,000 pounds,” said Collyer. “This is the time when we should see most of our food raising and we’re just not seeing that.”

Without a major food raising boost in the coming days, Collyer noted many families will not be able to get all of the food they would otherwise be entitled to in December.

Neighbour to Neighbour Centre needs about 100,000 pounds of food each month to meet the demands of a growing number of Mountain and Ancaster families that rely on their food bank services.

About 1,200 households were using the food bank as of last month and Collyer expects that number to push past 1,300 when the November statistics are gathered.

That would be the strongest demand in the centre’s 24-year history.

Most food bank users are the working poor or those receiving welfare benefits and almost all of the households include children.

Collyer blames the economic downturn for the drop in donations and rise in usage.
She’s hopeful schools, churches and other community groups will rally to help restock the shelves.

“The problem with food raising is you don’t know until the last minute who’s going to step up to the plate and who’s not,” said Denise Arkell, executive director at Neighbour to Neighbour Centre.
Arkell said the centre received about 300,000 pounds in donated food last November.
Another indication that tough times are continuing for many Mountain families is the centre’s annual Christmas hamper program filled up in a matter of days after registration opened at the beginning of the month.

“Our Christmas hamper registration filled up quicker this year than any other year,” said Collyer, who noted the centre will provide 850 hampers this year, the most ever, and still have a waiting list of about 50 more households. She said they would like to push the number of hampers they give out to 900 provided they can get more donations of food and toys from the community.
The hampers contain food items for a traditional Christmas meal along with a family gift and gifts for children as well as stocking stuffers and toiletries.

Collyer said the centre is still looking for donations of family gifts such as board games and gifts for boys and girls ages 9-12.

Donations can be dropped off at Neighbour to Neighbour Centre Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.