The skyrocketing price of food has forced the Elliot Lake Emergency Food Bank to drop its annual Christmas food hamper program, according to president Leonard Kutchaw.
Instead, the food bank will concentrate its food distribution to regular clients in a bid to reach as many people as it can.
“This year the directors of the Elliot Lake Emergency Food Bank made the difficult decision to cancel the annual Christmas hamper that was distributed to anyone who registered,” Kutchaw said. “While the Foodbank recognizes the difficulty this might place on some, our main concern must be first and foremost to the 200 families and other agencies that we serve every month to fulfill our Mission ‘To Feed the Hungry’.”
The Food Bank will distribute Christmas bags depending on the size of the family.
“This year our clients will receive a Christmas bag or bags depending on the size of the family that will contain the food products to make a Christmas Dinner.”
And instead of turkeys annually included in the hamper program, recipients will receive a chicken.
“We are adding a whole chicken to the bag and depending on the size of the family we will add another bag and also additional whole chickens,” Kutchaw added. “We received a shipment of whole chickens from Feed Ontario, that’s why we are giving out chicken and not a turkey.”
“The rising cost of food, and the supply chain issues that sometimes make it hard to get food products all contributed to the way we changed so that our clients can have a bit of Christmas cheer.”
“We as a Board have the obligation and the responsibility to ensure that we are financially sound and are able to provide continuous care to our clients who depend on us, not just at Christmas, but throughout the coming years ahead,” he said. “It is not what we wanted, but our costs have risen as well as our client count.”