Feed NS Offers Free Food Box Delivery Service

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Feed NS Offers Free Food Box Delivery Service

Feed Nova Scotia started a province-wide, free food delivery program to address challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. People who have trouble accessing food can call 211, and the operator will try to connect them with a food bank in their area. If there isn’t one available, the charity will send a food box to their doorstep.

Food insecurity was a problem in the Cape Breton region even before the pandemic. According to the last available numbers from 2018, Nova Scotia had the highest percentage of food insecurity in the country, with 15% of households living with some degree of food insecurity - about 1 in 6. Closer to home, Cape Breton Island has some of the highest child poverty numbers in the province, with more than 1 in 3 children living below the poverty line.

Feed Nova Scotia has traditionally relied on private donations and volunteering. More recently, the registered charity received funding from the federal and provincial governments to alleviate the effects of the pandemic. The food box program was largely funded by the $1 million provided by the Nova Scotia in March 2020.

“When COVID-19 first hit back in the spring,” Feed NS Director of Development Karen Theriault said, “we were hearing a lot of concerns from people who were unable to get out to their local food banks and other meal support programs, partly because of fear, partly because of an inability, they’ve perhaps lots their transportation. We know a lot of people carpool and share rides with people. And so, we introduced this short-term initiative called the Feed Nova Scotia COVID-19 Food Box Program.” 

Feed Nova Scotia doesn’t focus solely on food distribution, it works on food inequality education and collaboration as well. According to Theriault, the group has been advocating to government officials. “Emergency food support is critical when people need food today, but it is by no means the solution to food insecurity,” she said. “We are working with government leaders and others in the community to try to find bigger solutions, and to realize that our government officials have shown through the quick introduction of CERB, that they can make a significant difference in terms of food insecurity. When people have access to the finances they need, they can meet their own food requirements with dignity and on their own. Charity can’t be the long-term solution to an issue as complex as food insecurity.”

As part of the program, one-person homes would receive one non-perishable food box intended to last up to one week. Households of two people or more would receive two to four boxes. There is no limit to how many times someone can request the service. 

The 211 toll-free line is open weekdays between 8 am and 8 pm.

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Video Upload Date: December 16, 2020
Maritimes
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Cheticamp NS

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