Chilliwack Salvation Army Food Bank welcomes food drive this Saturday as supplies dwindle

“The lineup is around the building now,” Armstrong said, motioning towards the small pantry where racks of bread and baskets of produce were located. “It’s been steady since eight o’clock this morning. We’re probably seeing 200 people a day. It’s higher than normal. It fluctuates with payday. We’re really hurting, especially for fresh produce like this.”

And that’s exactly why food drives like the one happening this Saturday, June 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chilliwack Alliance Church, 8700 Young Road, are so essential.

The most needed items for the Salvation Army’s food warehouse are canned soup, tomato sauce, canned fruit, chunky soup, and snacks.

At the same time, Armstrong says lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, and vegetables are especially needed for the Pantry.

Local merchants like the four Save-On-Foods locations in Chilliwack, Safeway and Superstore contribute bread to the Pantry.

“We hit every grocery store in the morning,” Armstrong said. “They give us all their bread from the night before.”

Armstrong says the warehouse is down about 60 pallets of food from June 2022.

“The hardest part is trying to get enough in for this food drive to last us summertime, because as soon as the kids go out from school, all the school programs stop,” Armstrong said. Referring to the Salvation Army food warehouse, Armstrong added, “We are desperate. We got about a month and a half left of food, and then we’re out.”

For every $1 raised, the Salvation Army can acquire $2 worth of food.

Josh Draheim, community partnerships coordinator for the Chilliwack Salvation Army, says inflation hits food banks like the Salvation Army on three levels.

“On one level, demand has skyrocketed,” Draheim said. “Two years ago, we were doing about 300 hampers per month. We’re doing over 1,000 hampers per month now. Five hundred of the 1,000 hampers are for the Starfish backpack program. Another 300 hampers go out to 8-10 local charities, like Cyrus Centre, Wilma’s Transition Society, Ann Davis, and Seniors Resource Society, that they distribute to their clients. About 400 people a month physically come to the food bank to get a hamper.”

Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / Josh Draheim, community partnerships coordinator for the Chilliwack Salvation Army, stands inside the Salvation Army’s food warehouse where supplies have been significantly depleted. Draheim says the Salvation Army is donating over 1,000 food hampers a month now, a substantial increase over two years ago when they were doing about 300 hampers a month.

Draheim says the Pantry is running low on groceries because supermarkets are cutting back their purchasing as a result of inflation.

“We rely on their excess to stock this program, and when they have less excess, we have less to give away,” Draheim said. “About 200-plus people a day are coming to shop at the Pantry, up from about 60 people three years ago. So, what’s happening is that families that used to be OK are slipping into need. This is not your typical Salvation Army demographic. These are low-income families, single parents, a lot of recent immigrants like Ukrainians, things like that, coming here to get groceries to take home to their families.”

Inflation also hits the Salvation Army due to its reduced purchasing power and a decrease in donations.

Draheim said, “It’s a double whammy where you have more people to serve and less ability to do it, both because people are not donating as much, which is totally fair. People need to take care of their own families first and foremost. Then, we’re not able to purchase to supplement the way we used to.”

The Salvation Army used to get 50 per cent of its food through food drives, 50 per cent through purchasing. Draheim estimates it’s now 30 per cent through food drives, 70 per cent through purchasing.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack Salvation Army Food Bank welcomes food drive this Saturday as supplies dwindle

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