Its clientele represents about 18 per cent of the local population, and statistics indicate the number of people served by the Comox Valley Food Bank will continue to increase with each passing year.
A total of 9,520 bags of food were distributed in 2008/'09. The number jumped to 10,333 bags the following year.
"We get more and more people registered all the time," CV Food Bank president Jeff Hampton said. "The increase, it's happening all the time."
In the past fiscal year the local food bank served an average of 635 households per month, or 1,261 people, exceeding 7,600 visits for hampers, the size of which depends on the size of a household.
Thirty five per cent of the recipients were children.
"As long as you get children in need of nutritious food, it keeps a perpetuating circle of needy people," Hampton said. "We need societal intervention to try to break that mould...It's also multi-generational. You can almost liken it to what's happening now with recycling."
The food bank receives daily donations from Thrifty Foods and Quality Foods in both Comox and Courtenay, and from Safeway. Costco has also come on board with five shopping carts of bakery items and "a ton of potatoes," Hampton said.
It also receives damaged products from Superstore, Extra Foods, Zellers, Thrifty Foods and Quality Foods, dog food from Woofy's Pet Foods and Petland, and produce from local farmers.
"We're a distribution centre," Hampton said. "We try to give everybody a fair share."
The food bank distributes hampers on Thursdays. Produce and bakery items are available on a once-a-week-per-person basis on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. An average of 50 drop-in clients are served each day.
It also supplies local soup kitchens.
"We're just run ragged after a while from the sheer volume of stuff that we're doing," said Hampton, noting about 36 volunteers help run the service.
The busiest time of year is normally December when people are in generous spirits, after which it slows in January. Hampton notes, however, that more people are starting to help on a year-round basis.
Food drives and special events bring in cash and food donations, which are always welcomed to meet the growing demand.
"Everything helps us," Hampton said.
The Comox Valley Food Bank has operated since December, 1983. It is located at 1755b 13th St. in Courtenay.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com