A study done in 2017 showed that in Canada, Nova Scotia had the highest amount (12.8%) of persons living below the MBM threshold of poverty. A Hunger Count survey in 2016 showed that the usage of food banks in Nova Scotia had jumped from 21% to 29% in the HRM. It concluded that the percentage of Nova Scotians in need of a food bank is the highest nationwide.
Feed Nova Scotia’s 2018-2019 annual report shows that 1 in 6 households in the province are food insecure. At least 42,000 Nova Scotians received support from Feed Nova Scotia’s food banks in 2018; 14,000 of those individuals were children.
This Halloween, WestFor teamed up with Feed Nova Scotia to do a Trick-or-Eat. On October 31, WestFor staff went to people’s houses but
instead of asking for candy we asked for non-perishable food items to donate to Feed Nova Scotia. We had 5 staff members participate around a single Bridgewater neighbourhood and collected 75kgs of food in an
hour and a half.
With the support of the community it was a large success in a short period of time. We are hoping to be able to open it up to a larger group next year and double our intake!
A big thank you to one of our contractors, Rumcache Forest Solutions, for helping WestFor staff carry the load!
Header photo credit: Kate Zwicker
