When you're in business and you look back at the end of the year, you want to see a steady rise in your numbers.  

When the Airdrie Food Bank looked back on 2019 they saw a dramatic rise in their numbers, which is something they don't want to see as it indicates the need for food assistance in the area just keeps on growing.

2019 was a record-setting year for the Food Bank, according to Communications Manager Christine Taylor.  "We saw an increase in every category.  Well, a decrease in one, but not in a good way, because it was food recovery, which was down four percent.  It tells me our need has increased in a huge way."

Taylor explained that one of the biggest jumps the Food Bank saw was in their Fuel For Kids program where they provide breakfast, lunch, and snacks for 31 Airdrie schools.  The program is fully funded by the Food Bank since other donations can't be used because the program requires very specific foods due to allergy concerns.  

Last year the Food Bank provided 33,197 snacks to schools, an increase of 5,500 or a 20 percent rise.  The breakfast program supplied nearly 3,000 more meals than the previous year, an increase of a whopping 43 percent.  "That tells us that kids are going to school hungry,: said Taylor.  "43 percent of our clients are actually children under the age of 18 and that tells us that we still are feeding young families."

Another program that saw a serious increase in need was the Food Bank's Bread and Extras food recovery program.  Visits for that program, that provides clients and others who might not qualify for a food hamper but just need a weekly boost of bread and other staples, saw an increase of over 10,000 visits or an 8.5 percent jump.

The most staggering figure of all was the overall number of people who visited the Food Bank last year.  "We fed 39,756 people," said Taylor.  "When you look at the population of Airdrie, that's significant.  It was up almost 10 percent last year.

Unfortunately, the community food drives and bin programs that the Airdrie Food Bank relies on each year didn't keep up with the overall food demand.  The amount of food brought in by those programs ncreased by just two percent in 2019,  

Taylor said the demand for the Food Bank's services isn't slowing down as people continue to come as bills from Christmas roll in.  From November through January, they receive between 75 and 80 percent of donations for the entire year which must then be stretched to last the year.  Taylor said anyone thinking of doing a food drive or helping the Food Bank in some other way should consider doing it in the spring or later in the year.

"We encourage people to have a spring food drive or something later in the year that can help us spread out the food."

Taylor also wants people to remember their biggest fundraiser of the year which is coming up on March 14th. "Our 15th annual Shamrock Shimmy is an opportunity for people to come and support us, buy tickets, enjoy the event or we are also looking for auction donations and sponsor donations.  There's a lot of benefits in becoming a sponsor so people can contact me if they want more information."

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