SUNDRE – The overall number of hampers distributed over the past holiday season might have decreased a bit, but two organizations that endeavour to alleviate seasonal stress in the Sundre area reported an increase in the number of singles seeking assistance.
Courtesy of “overwhelming community support again this year,” the Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society, under whose banner the annual Sundre Santas Christmas hamper program is administered, was able to deliver some holiday cheer to 279 individuals through a total of 114 hampers, said Bree Odd, the program’s director.
The outpouring of support, she wrote in a Jan. 11 email in response to follow-up questions, helped ensure the “hampers were overflowing with groceries” including “essential pantry items and a variety of food collected from different drives.”
As well, food bags that were assembled by Freson Bros. and donated by members of the community further supplemented the hampers, she said.
“A gift for children aged 12 and under were added to the hampers and we made sure to provide hats, gloves, and socks to adults who were in need.”
Noting a “slight decrease” in the number of hampers distributed this past season compared with 2022, Odd went on to add that “we did observe an increase in the number of registrations for single adults as well as multiple adults within the same household seeking assistance.”
Expressing gratitude to everyone in the community who offered donations to Sundre Santas, Odd also praised “the 162 volunteers who generously contributed a total of 557 hours to assist the program through tasks such as organizing, stocking, and assembling hampers.”
The society also extended its appreciation to those who volunteered at the 11th hour to take on the initiative of organizing the Children’s Christmas Market to “fill the gap when we made the difficult decision to cancel the Magic of Christmas event this year.”
Over at McDougal Chapel, home of the Plus 1 Emergency Food Hamper program, Pastor Kent Janz said there overall wasn’t a big change in the number of hampers they gave out over the holidays compared with the year prior.
“What we’re seeing now in early January, is it’s picking up a little bit,” Janz told the Albertan on Jan. 10 during a phone interview.
“Through the holiday season, it’s never as much of an increase as you think it would be because I think people get gifts and then Greenwood’s Santa hampers probably help a little bit,” he said.
“Our community’s small enough that it’s the same people we’re helping,” he added.
Marni Phelps, the emergency hamper program’s volunteer coordinator and dispatcher, said during a Jan. 11 phone interview that 256 hampers were distributed in 2022.
“We helped 62 families, which included 95 children, and 43 single individuals,” said Phelps.
This past holiday season, 212 hampers went out, she said.
“The numbers were down a bit from 2022, but I believe that it’s because things changed,” she said. “There weren’t as many singles in Sundre last year, but there were more families in need.”
But not even two weeks into January, the emergency hamper program had already give out 10 hampers, eight of which were for families who sometimes have as many as three or four children, she said.
People tend to receive social assistance, disability or pension cheques before Christmas, she said.
“Then after Christmas, everything’s gone,” she said. “So, we will start getting requests for hampers probably the first week in January, and that will continue as the need arises.”
And with the extreme cold that has prompted authorities to issue advisories, there are some people who are struggling between choosing whether to pay their bills and keep their homes warm or put food on the table.
Phelps also wanted to clarify the fact that “this whole program is an emergency hamper program. It is not a food bank; people sometimes think we are.”
Those who turn to the Plus 1 program for assistance are allowed one hamper a month for six months if needed, she said, adding the only information requested from individuals is their name, physical address, number of people in the household as well as whether there are children and what their ages are “so that we know how to fill the hampers.”
A person or family who has already received an emergency hamper and returns within the same month requesting another could be referred to the Mountain View Food Bank in Olds, she said.
That being said, she also recognized that “circumstances can change very quickly for people. We are an emergency hamper program. So, if an unusual thing happened and there was a second need within that timeframe, we would look at it very seriously.”
Such situations might for example include an anticipated job offer falling through or a sudden illness.
“Each circumstance is looked at with love and compassion and wisdom,” she said.
Janz said that while the program manages to hold its own, the need for additional items to restock shelves is constant.
“Whatever comes in, goes right back out. I’m always amazed at how we always seem to have enough food, because we go through a lot,” he said.
“I’ll just be totally honest with you. I’m amazed – and this probably has to do with a little bit of our faith-based mentality – is that God always seems to bring in the right stuff for the right people,” he said, offering as an example a woman who had come in requesting diapers.
“And we had just got a donation of the right size diapers before that. You can call it coincidence or whatever, but we just like to say God’s just looking out for people,” he said.
“We’re humbled by it; I think it’s very humbling, to not only know that there’s something bigger than us out there, but there’s also people out there that are willing to walk alongside us. And we love it.”
With some other hamper programs and food banks across the country struggling to keep their shelves well stocked, the pastor hailed local support that sustains their efforts.
“We can’t compare ourselves to other communities,” he said.
“Our community’s pretty amazing and we’re so thankful for that; and we love serving our community. We just need more people to catch that spirit.”
