Nova Scotia community food resources strained this Thanksgiving

Community food resources in Nova Scotia are strained this Thanksgiving and organizations expect the need will only rise as winter sets in. 

Amid rising demand, Parker Street Food Bank on Maynard Street in Halifax is hoping to use future energy cost savings to support its operations. 

The charity received $218,000 in federal funding that will be used toward installing a rooftop solar array, LED lights, a heat pump and an energy monitoring system. 

"Every little bit of energy savings counts," Denise Daley, executive director of the Parker Street Food Bank, told CBC Radio's Mainstreet Halifax on Friday. 

She said Parker Street's power bill will be reduced by almost 72 per cent, or $7,300 annually, once the project is complete.

Daley said demand is so high a household may soon have to wait five weeks between food boxes, rather than the current four weeks.

"It is increasing day by day," she said. 

Parker Street served 10,000 clients by August, Daley said. By comparison, the organization served 12,000 in all of 2022.

The Antigonish Community Fridge and Pantry is also seeing a higher need for food. 

In response, the organization is launching a new initiative to stock fridges with ready-to-eat meals. 

"Increasingly, we have people who are unhoused or living rough in the community and those folks don't have access necessarily to kitchen and cooking facilities," said Wyanne Sandler, an organizer and volunteer with the community fridge project. 

The Antigonish organization is looking for volunteers to help prepare large batches of soup to help fill the community fridges at the library and farmers market in Antigonish. 

Sandler said the organization stocks the fridges three times a week in addition to what the community contributes.

"Even though we know there's a tremendous amount of food being contributed it's being used very quickly," Sandler said.