Jason Moore, executive director of the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank, held a joint media event at the food bank on Thursday with Meara Conway, the NDP Official Opposition critic for Social Services and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs).
The media event was a reaction to an open letter Moore released on July 17 to ask for help from communities and government, describing a ‘crisis’ for the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank (MJFB) and asking Moose Javians to sign a national petition prepared by Food Banks Canada.
“Over the past two years, the number of households accessing our emergency services has doubled,” Moore told media representatives, “from 400 to 800 households a month. Despite the dramatic increase, donations have not kept pace, and the gap between our resources and our community’s needs has never been wider.
“Today, I am reaching out to you with an urgent appeal to join us in this critical fight to end hunger. ... This year, we face the dire reality of having to reduce our service capacity as the demand to access (our services) has surged beyond anything we’ve experience in our history.”
Moore said the food bank needs donations of at least $150,000 by October 31 to continue providing services. To help adapt to a community food-insecurity burden that Moore said would only get worse, the MJFB is taking steps including moving to a ‘shopping model’ to help cut down on food waste, reducing the amount of hampers per household per month, and increasing programs that teach clients cooking and nutritional skills.
Moore went on to describe speaking to a client who had recently lost their job, and who was upset to learn that the MJFB is reducing its monthly hampers per household from two to one.
“They were scared, and rightfully so. Where will they be able to get groceries while they’re looking for work?”
NDP critic Meara Conway
“I’m here on behalf of the Saskatchewan NDP to amplify the Moose Jaw Food Bank’s calls for immediate action,” Conway said after Moore finished his statement. “As Jason said, I have no doubt that the people of Moose Jaw, the business community, those people that have supported Moose Jaw over the years, will answer the call, as they have always.
“But I think what is so important is that we see some action at the provincial government level, because to date we have seen none, and we have a premier who, frankly, crows about Saskatchewan’s economic prosperity, talks about how Saskatchewan people have basically ‘never had it so good,’ at a time when we’re seeing this kind of unprecedented growth at the Moose Jaw Food Bank.”
Asked about what she would do differently if the NDP formed a government, Conway said she and her caucus have made many specific suggestions already.
“I can think of calls for Scott Moe to halt the increases we’ve seen to utilities, relief on the gas tax, we at one point called for a meat pricing investigation given the unprecedented rise in the cost of food, we’ve called out the fact that Saskatchewan people are worth more than the country’s minimum wage, and I would note that many of the people that access the food bank are working people.”
Conway also called out the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program, which she called a “terrible program” that is unquestionably driving the incrased need for food bank access.
Asked about direct provincial funding for food banks, Conway said that an NDP government would start with structural changes that are clearly within the provincial sphere of control.
“I think that we can all agree that a laudable goal of any government — in a rich province, in a rich country like ours —, is to eradicate food insecurity. There is no good reason that working people, that seniors on fixed incomes, that children are hungry in a province like Saskatchewan,” she added.
Cheantelle Fisher, the client resource representative at the MJFB, is the current NDP candidate for the Moose Jaw North riding. She is campaigning to take Tim McLeod’s place during this fall’s election.
Asked to elaborate on that connection, Conway said she doesn’t think it is relevant.
“I think that probably some of the systemic issues that she’s seen at the food bank very much prompted her to want to get involved in politics,” she said. “But her service with the Moose Jaw Food Bank has been exemplary and speaks for itself.”
Reaction from provincial government
Discover Moose Jaw News requested comment for this article from Moose Jaw North MLA Tim McLeod and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services and received the following statements by email.
From Moose Jaw North MLA Tim McLeod's office:
“I was pleased to have an opportunity to tour the Moose Jaw Food Bank and visit with the staff there several months ago. Our government greatly values the work of all food banks across Saskatchewan and we recognize the challenges arising from recent increases to the cost of food, which are largely driven by the carbon tax. It is for this reason, the Sask Party Government has already introduced several measures to help relieve the cost of living for Saskatchewan families, and have more coming soon. We look forward to sharing these announcements publicly in the weeks ahead.”
From the Ministry of Social Services:
“The Ministry of Social Services values the work food banks do to help individuals in their communities. The ministry continues to have conversations with Food Banks of Saskatchewan about the needs they are seeing across the province, and we look forward to having more to say on this front in the coming days.”