P.E.I. scores relatively high on food bank report, but non-profits see a different reality

Prince Edward Island received one of the top grades in a recent national poverty report, but local non-profits say they're still seeing many Islanders struggle to make ends meet.

P.E.I. got a C– on the report card from Food Banks Canada, which looked at how provincial governments are doing in the fight against poverty. Many other provinces, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, fared worse.

"It's concerning when people are at that level of extreme need, there is no room for error in a monthly budget," said Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada.   

Beardsley said when it comes to poverty on P.E.I., the biggest issues are food insecurity, access to health care and the number of people on fixed incomes.  

"Folks are dipping into their savings, they're leaning on credit cards, and then they're turning to community organizations," she said. 

One of those organizations is the Upper Room Food Bank, which serves approximately 2,500 people amore than 4,000 meals at its soup kitchen each month.  

CEO Mike MacDonald said demand is up 26 per cent over last year and client numbers have doubled in the last four years. He was surprised to see P.E.I. among the highest grades in the report. 

"It's certainly not maybe the reality that we see on a daily basis," he said. "We have individuals coming into food banks and soup kitchens across the province every day that are in crisis."

He cites the cost of housing and lack of access to mental health care services among the main reasons Islanders are turning to non-profits for help these days.

"There's a lot of work to be done," he said.

Betty Begg-Brooks, CEO of Gifts from the Heart, said the number of people using the free store and community fridges have doubled int he past month. More government grants would help her organization and others keep up with demand, she said. 

"It's getting worse and worse all the time…. It just boggles my mind that there is such a need."

Food Banks Canada also mentions government support in its recommendations on how to improve poverty rates on P.E.I. The report suggests P.E.I. introduce a provincial child benefit program, as other provinces have done, and to continue its Seniors Food Support Program.