Food insecurity has been a growing concern in Swift Current over the last few years and one local organization has done its best to help those in need.

The Salvation Army Swift Current's food bank has experienced a 400 per cent spike in food requests since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Bill Mailman, a lieutenant with the Salvation Army Swift Current, said when he arrived in August of 2020, they were booking about 14-15 food hamper appointments per week. Now they book about 14-15 appointments four days a week.

"We haven't had to turn anyone away, our goal is not to turn anyone away," he said.

The demand increase during COVID-19 Pandemic was easier to combat for the food bank as they were able to frequently obtain government grants but now that extra funding has dried up.

"We've increased our service to meet the need during COVID but we're still trying to meet that increased need without those kinds of extra supports," he said. "We're doing okay but we definitely haven't seen a fourfold increase in donations."

To augment the difference between the rising demand for food and the amount of donations/funding given to the food bank, they've had to make a few changes.

"We've adjusted the size of our hampers, the amount we give out, we've adjusted how often people can access our hampers," he said. "The reason for that is we want to help as many people as possible even with a little bit rather than helping a few people with a lot."

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