Demand continues to surge at Calgary Food Bank

The Calgary Food Bank says a surge in demand for its services this year isn't showing any signs of letting up as fall begins. 

Spokesperson Shawna Ogston estimates that roughly 1,000 people are accessing the organization's food programs each day. That's up from 400 per day at the same time last year.

"We are seeing a surge in demand at the food bank and it hasn't let up, even pre-pandemic we had a lot of families and individuals coming because of the economic fallout," she said.

"Now we have individuals and families coming who never thought they would have to come to a food bank because they are underemployed or they are precarious income, and they just can't make those dollars stretch."

Ogsten says the supply of food is in good shape at the moment, thanks to community support.

But she notes fall and winter tend to be the busiest times of year, so they continue to welcome donations and volunteers.

Arianna Scott with Food Banks Alberta says they've seen a surge in demand across the province.

She adds some of that is driven by the impact of the pandemic coupled with Alberta's economic downturn.

"What we're seeing is that the cities and larger towns are continuing to experience a significant increase in usage," she said.