Taber Food Bank manager, Naomi Wiebe, inspects through food donations on Oct. 13, 2022 at the food bank. Wiebe has been taking on the role of manager for 5 years.
Staff and volunteers at a local food bank highlighted the importance of volunteering, as food prices across the country rise.
The Taber Food Bank offers services such as a pick shelf, a set-up much like a storefront and a monthly hamper program where registered clients receive five to seven days worth of food assistance. They also provide Christmas hampers, which include additional food supplies specific for a Christmas meal.
There are various roles that volunteers take on once they start such as organizing, cleaning, sorting through donations, filling shelves and making hampers for the clients.
Doug Broadfoot, a volunteer at the Taber Food Bank for 20 years, said he does what is needed to ensure clients are greeted and welcomed with a warm smile.
“I do a little bit of everything; I drive the forklift now and again. Occasionally I get a chance to drive the van to various different locations,” said Broadfoot.
Broadfoot started volunteering because he liked the feeling of helping and returning.
“It gives me a good warm glow. Whether people end up taking too much or not, it’s still a warm glow,” said Broadfoot.
According to a Statistics Canada article on how “Rising prices are affecting the ability to meet day-to-day expenses for most Canadians” published on June 9, 2022, “Nearly three in four Canadians reported that rising prices are affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses such as transportation, housing, food, and clothing.”
On average, the organization had around 500 pickshelf visits in the months of June, July and August with an average of 34 volunteers who racked up 300 hours of volunteering in total.
“It’s just a matter of giving back and knowing how well we are and visualizing that not everyone is as well off as we are,” said Broadfoot.
Skills such as working with people, interpersonal communication and being a helpful person are some of the abilities Broadfoot learned as he continues to volunteer at the food bank. He likes knowing that what he’s doing for the community is important and it is important work.
Naomi Wiebe, Taber Food Bank manager, said they would be unable to operate without the help of volunteers.
“They’re extremely important. They take care of lots of different day-to-day duties for us that without them just wouldn’t get carried out. Our operations would look a lot different if we only had staff,” said Wiebe.
Lethbridge College has its very own food bank specially made for its students. The Lethbridge College Students’ Association first opened the food bank in 1994, their goal was to meet the food needs of students on campus.
Angela Fretts-Waters, the association services coordinator for the LCSA, said the college offers services such as Wellness Wednesday, cheap pizzas during Thirsty Thursday and Christmas hampers for students with families.
Wellness Wednesday is a service where the LCSA serves around 300 servings of food and other health and wellness resources. During Thirsty Thursday, they sell pizzas for $1.
Both the Taber Food Bank and LCSA Food Bank rely solely on food and monetary donations to maintain their supply. The two organizations are also seeking volunteers to help with their operations.
