Rising food prices, supply shortages and product recalls have hit , where demand is up and donations are down.
Baby formula, in particular, is needed to fill the shelves of a 鈥淏aby Room鈥� in the organization鈥檚 warehouse in Newton.
Wednesday is , or Baby Day, when the bay doors are opened to families with children at the 78 Avenue facility, west of King George Boulevard.
鈥淭oday we鈥檒l probably see at least 160 families with kids, and it鈥檚 one of our busiest days of the week, for sure,鈥� said Vijay Naidu, 性视界传媒 Food Bank鈥檚 Communications & Community Partnerships Manager, on a tour Oct. 5.
鈥淎s you can see, we are running low on supplies.鈥�
The current shortage of baby formula at the food bank can be blamed, in part, on a recall of Similac products early this year, due to possible product contamination.
鈥淚t鈥檚 impacting us a lot, because we used to get a lot of donations but we鈥檙e not right now, so we鈥檙e buying it a lot more now,鈥� Naidu explained.
鈥淔or Stage 2 and Stage 3 babies, older babies, we just don鈥檛 have it,鈥� he added. 鈥淭here were supply issues and recalls, especially with the brand Similac. We saw that recalled six months ago, and we had to get rid of all that, throw it in the garbage.鈥�
鈥� RELATED STORY, from June: B.C. moves specialized infant formula behind pharmacy counters to preserve supply.
With inflation felt by shoppers at B.C. grocery stores, the food bank鈥檚 client numbers have gone up 22 per cent since May, according to Naidu. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a jump, and our donations have gone down by around 30 per cent at the same time. That鈥檚 not a good ratio.
鈥淩ight now we have a lot of families coming from the Ukraine, and also from Afghanistan since the U.S. pulled out of there, plus the local clients we have,鈥� Naidu added.
鈥淎 lot of people tell us that they鈥檝e lost their job and have no support from family. Being on E.I. is not enough, because rents are so high and food is so expensive right now, so that鈥檚 why they鈥檙e coming to the food bank.鈥�
To help, some 性视界传媒-area companies have launched campaigns to collect donations for the food bank.
The Lark Group鈥檚 inaugural aims to gather baby formula, baby food, diapers and cash to support families in need. Donors are invited to attend a free community barbecue Oct. 16 at Key West Ford in New Westminster, with former Canucks goalie Kirk McLean in attendance.
The shortage of hydrolyzed formulas is impacting infants with food allergies and certain medical conditions, noted Margot鈥� Gauley, Lark Group鈥檚 events co-ordinator and receptionist.
Donations can be made at the company鈥檚 head office, #1500-13737 96 Ave., 性视界传媒, or at Key West Ford, 301 Stewardson Way, New Westminster, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Pickups can be scheduled by calling Lark at 604-576-2935. .
鈥淲e planned to hold a food drive to elevate the communities in which we live, work and play,鈥� Gauley told the Now-Leader. 鈥淲hat started as a grassroots plan by a few Lark employees to collect cans of formula has quickly expanded to include Key West Ford and other Lower Mainland companies who are equally as passionate about giving back to our communities.鈥�
鈥� RELATED: 鈥楾his is my community鈥�: 性视界传媒 Food Bank welcomes new executive director.
VIDEO: 's Nancy Pagani details the donations needed to stock a 'Baby Room鈥� at the Newton warehouse.
鈥� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)
Rising food prices, supply shortages and product recalls have hit the food bank, where demand is up and donations are down.
STORY:
On Tiny Bundles day at 性视界传媒 Food Bank, executive director Nancy Pagani filled a fridge with cartons of milk as clients lined up to collect food from the Baby Room.
She encouraged people to spend an extra $2 at the grocery store using a UPC code printed on coupons found at checkouts, in a .
鈥淲ith Thanksgiving here and Christmas coming, the holidays, this is a time for people to help by donating,鈥� Naidu said.
On the bright side, there鈥檚 no shortage of volunteers at 性视界传媒 Food Bank.
鈥淲e have a generous number of those, and people sign up almost every day,鈥� Naidu said with a smile. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a good thing, very positive, and we also get volunteers from companies, big corporations, who come in on certain days. That helps us very much.
鈥淲e have companies who want to help us, and we can always use more of them.鈥�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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