COVID-19 restrictions have impacted the way many non-profits raise funds, including the Food Depot Alimentaire.
Executive director Chantal Senecal says that while the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has helped reduce demand, they remain busy.
Senecal says they are now looking ahead to the fall, and are expecting a higher demand due to the pandemic’s impact on the economy.
She says it’s also difficult to predict how much the demand may grow when the emergency benefit program ends.
“We’re best preparing food banks to be able to take on that extra 20, 30 per cent increase, maybe even more, we don’t know,” she says.
Senecal says the Food Depot Alimentaire is finding new ways to raise money while respecting public health guidelines.
“We have to completely reinvent how we fundraise. The food banks have lost a lot of capacity to bring in revenue so that’s concerning but we’re just trying our best to come up with ways and partnerships to continue to supply them with food and funding,”
She says the community’s support and various partnerships have allowed them to continue feeding those who need it most.
