A local couple are enriching food security for those in need.
Jason and Kristine Mullins visited and toured the facilities at Bradford’s Helping Hand Food Bank while donating $50,000 along with several boxes of candy, on Friday morning, Nov. 1.
“We’ve had so many consecutive years of inflation, rising food costs and a tough economic environment where unemployment has been rising, it just becomes obvious that there’s a bigger need than ever before,” Jason said.
The family has made other donations in the past, including $25,000 in December 2021, and Jason explained the food bank is of particular importance to them for being one of the most grassroots organizations addressing one of the three most fundamental needs of the local community: food, clothing and shelter.
“We’ve been residents of Bradford for 14 years now, so this is our home — this is where we raised our kids,” he said. “It’s a community that means a lot to us and we just want to give back.”
While the family had previously visited the food bank’s old location at 123 Moore St. — now part of the ongoing construction of the new Bradford House — this was Jason and Kristine’s first time visiting the new location in the town’s community hub at 177 Church St.
Kristine was particularly impressed with the food bank’s market-style experience, and remarked how it felt just like going to a normal grocery store.
Meanwhile, Jason was most impressed with the large walk-in freezer and available refrigeration to maintain perishable items.
“Warehouse space is a dime a dozen, but to find a place that can offer all the cold storage, that’s impressive,” he said.
Overall, Jason called the new location “fantastic,” and said it was great to see a space designed specifically for the food bank’s unique requirements.
He hopes the donation will contribute to the ability to “move the mission forward.”
Executive director Carolyn Khan was happy to say that it most certainly will.
“I want to express how amazing this donation really is,” she said, adding that when she received the call from Jason, the generosity gave her goosebumps and left her in shock.
That $50,000 is roughly equivalent to one year’s rent for the food bank’s 4,600-square-foot space, according to Khan.
“We can rest assured we’ll be able to keep our doors open for an entire year when the need is so great,” she said.
Rent isn’t the only expense for the food bank though, with other operational costs including staff, equipment, internet and food — some of which needs to be purchased fresh, like eggs and dairy, and some which is in such high demand that donations can’t always keep up.
Fortunately, the food bank hasn’t needed to purchase any fresh produce for one whole year, thanks to local farms, grocery stores and their newest partner, Costco.
Despite demand trending upwards overall for their services, Khan said they’ve managed to keep operational costs static, in part by relying on a team of 103 active volunteers who help just one full-time staff member, Khan, and one part-time operations coordinator, Grace Wittig.
Khan said they’re investigating additional funding opportunities in the hopes of hiring more staff in the future.
Meanwhile, their user stats show the number of families visiting the food bank actually dropped in October to 416, compared to 431 in September. However, Khan was cautious not to jump to any conclusions, as that slight decrease was only for one month and she explained they’re heading into November and December, which are typically the busiest months of the year.
On top of that, Food Banks Canada recently released their HungerCount 2024 report, subtitled “Buckling under the strain,” which notes food bank usage increased six per cent across the country in 2024 compared to 2023, which is also an increase of 90 per cent compared to the last pre-COVID-19 pandemic year of 2019.
“The need for food banks is spiralling out of control,” the report says.
Food Banks Canada estimates it took about 25 years to hit the milestone of one million food bank visits per month nationally, a number which has doubled in the last five years alone.
“There are signs that the food banking system is reaching its absolute limit,” the report says.
That nation-wide problem is also being felt in Bradford, according to Khan.
“It comes back to the funding,” she said. “We’re an essential service, we provide wrap around supports, yet we’re still not funded by any level of government.”
While the food bank has successfully applied for one-off grants in the past, Khan explained those are not guaranteed, and the food bank doesn’t receive any ongoing funding from the federal, provincial or municipal levels.
More information about Helping Hand and how it’s been serving the community since 1991 can be found at bradfordfoodbank.ca.
