In the heat of summer, donating to the food bank might not be on people's minds, yet hunger doesn't stop.
Representatives from the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul food banks said they would be able to last the summer but there's a need for more.
"We're always needing donations to continue on with our operations," said Roy Law, the local Salvation Army's community ministries director.
"We're doing not too bad," said Bernie Goold, St. Vincent de Paul's president. "We have to say we're always grateful for the donations and we're hoping, as in the past years, people with surpluses in their garden will deliver some nice, fresh produce that we can give out with our fruit and vegetable hampers."
Fruits and vegetables are some of the first items to be cut from the grocery budget because of the cost, she said.
Items the two food banks are looking for include canned goods, cooking oats, peanut butter, jam, pasta, sauces, coffee and tea. The Salvation Army is also looking for non-food items like personal care products, deodorant, shampoo and women's products. It's also looking for something else.
"We're short on volunteers. We're always going to need more volunteers," Law said, adding that having 10 or so extra volunteers would help fulfill their needs.
Both Goold and Law said the demand for aid has gone up compared to previous years. At St. Vincent de Paul over the last few months, 150 families per month have received hampers containing enough food for a week.
"The face of those challenged by poverty has changed dramatically over the last five to 10 years," Goold said. "There's a lot of working poor that are working, trying and struggling to keep a family as well and those are some of the people we're privileged to serve."
The biggest increase as of late at St. Vincent de Paul has been seniors.
"A lot more seniors have been accessing hampers than we've had in all of our years of service," Goold said. She said she thinks it is happening because those seniors with limited pensions are having trouble facing increasing food costs.
The Salvation Army is planning to move its food bank to a location near Shoppers Wholesale on 18 Ave. within the next month or so, Law said.
Those interested in donating items can contact the Salvation Army at 250-564-4000 or St. Vincent de Paul at 250-564-7871.
"I can't say enough about the generosity of the people, because without that support we wouldn't open our doors every day," Goold said.
