Food bank temporarily turns people away after running out of food

Summer is a time when many people take a break, but a local food bank says they learned the hard way recently that hunger does not go on holiday.

The Salvation Army Food Bank in Brant County says it had to temporarily turn some people away from its Paris location because the shelves were empty.

They’ve since been restocked, but high demand means the supply may not last long.

The situation is more pronounced in the summer – a time of year where people don’t typically donate as often.

“From about Easter, or a little past Easter, until September is a really low time for food banks,” said William Ratelband, community and family services coordinator at the Salvation Army.

“So typically, the giving times are Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Ratelband says this is the first time in 20 years the food bank had to turn people away.

“It breaks my heart…9 out of 10 people that come in here have debt problems…what we want to do is build relationship with people, get to know people,” explained Ratelband.

The food bank sees an average of about 30 families come in daily to use their services. They also serve roughly 200 people every week in Brantford and another 30 at their Paris location.

“It just goes really fast. I’m off looking at the shelves and saying ‘where’s all the food gone?’” said Ratelband.

After putting out a plea for more donations last week, Ratelband says the support from the community has been positively overwhelming.

“I don’t know the exact figures but I can say that people are dropping off gift cards, people dropping off produce from their gardens – bags of things. Grocery stores coming to the table…they’re even trying to do things in house to really help.”

The Salvation Army Food Bank operates by appointment. People can give food donations or a monetary contributions to help feed people in their community.

You can visit the County of Brant’s website for a list of food banks and food pantries.