This festive season offers a good opportunity to acknowledge the individuals and organizations who have shared their time and material resources to help the less fortunate in this community.
One of the institutions that is synonymous with the spirit of giving is the Squamish Food Bank.
According to Christina Rupp, the coordinator of the program, the increasing cost of housing means more families are unable to afford the basics. While single-parent families are the largest group relying on the food bank, the number of two-parent households utilizing the service has gone up.
Nearly 30 per cent of users are children and youth and the number of seniors who require support has also increased.
Rupp says “if someone is on a fixed income but the cost of living continues to climb, it is very difficult to make ends meet. The increase in cost of rent and food have played a big part in many of our clients’ lives. Food is often the last thing on their list, after the bills have been paid.”
In addition to generous donations from various local businesses, an estimated one-in-five households in Squamish contributes foodstuffs for distribution to the less fortunate.
During the recent conversion of Extra Foods into the Independent Grocer, fresh produce, bread and many household products were placed at the food bank’s disposal. And from May to November of this year the food bank was instrumental in diverting 30,000 pounds of food from the landfill.
This fall, during the fifth annual Squamish Thanksgiving Food Drive 60 volunteers, including students, local church groups and service club members, picked up, sorted and stored nearly 8,000 pounds of donated food for distribution to 4,500 homes. Geraldine Guilfoyle, president of the Squamish Multifaith Association, called it “a huge community effort.”
In addition to the Squamish Food Bank service, in 2015 the Squamish Helping Hands Society provided 33,000 hot meals, handed out 11,000 Food2Go meals, delivered 13,000 Food4Kids lunches to school children and put together 1,500 Food4Families grocery hampers.
And the annual Community Christmas Care initiative is in high gear again with contributions pouring in from a host of local businesses and individual donors. Community Christmas Care is spearheaded by Squamish Helping Hands, the Squamish Food Bank and local churches with a focus on helping residents who are less fortunate. Last Christmas, volunteers with the group assembled and distributed around 450 hampers and this year they could surpass that number. Recently the local RCMP detachment also took part in the Christmas Care program by inviting residents to pack two police cruisers with food, toys, gift cards and cash donations. An attestable outpouring of generosity has always been one of this community’s hallmarks. That sentiment is even more noteworthy at a time when many residents are facing challenging circumstances beyond their immediate control.
