The local working poor in Fort MacMurray and Wood Buffalo are still struggling , and this can be seen by the high demand at the local food bank. There was a 75% increase in demand at the Wood Buffalo Food Bank when compared to the same time period last year. Only 10% of this increase was due to recent unemployment, the rest is by individuals and families who have an income but who are struggling to meet higher bills and food costs. Arianna Johnson, the executive director of the food bank, said “The gap between wages continues to grow. Part of January was cold, so utility bills were high. The cost of natural gas and electricity has gone up since last year, so that adds stress on families as well. The working poor, their income just isn’t enough to sustain their situations; their rent, their bills and food. Really though, only about 10% were here because of layoffs or the loss of employment of some sort.”
The high demand at the food bank from the working poor has put a strain on the available resources, and it shows that while the economy seems to be recovering many people and families have been left behind. Rising costs and stagnant wages mean that even a small increase in expenses in a month could mean a lack of food on the table. Johnson explained that the food bank recently had to purchase non perishables for the first time in January, usually donations last until around June. “We’ve never had to purchase non-perishables before June in my time with the food bank (four years), so that’s a concern for us. We’ve taken some steps to try and spread our food stocks out longer, but we’re also in the process of planning a few new food drives. If we have to continue to buy non-perishable food items, we will have to scale back and stop buying perishable food items, which decreases the health value and nutritional value of our hampers, which has a direct impact on the health and well-being … of the clients we serve.”