Don't think of food banks as a Band-Aid. What we do is more like a tourniquet

This column is an opinion by Alex Boyd, executive director of Greener Village in Fredericton. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

It's that time of year again. The Christmas carols are long finished, the malls and stores are quiet, and for the first time in weeks, your local food bank isn't everywhere you look.

After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, life is returning to normal. But throughout December, you couldn't turn sideways without hearing about turkey drives, or gifts for kids, or other food bank endeavours.

And inevitably, this rise in publicity and recognition triggered a wave of comments, letters and thoughts. "Food banks are part of the problem," "food banks don't address the issue," and my personal favourite, "food banks are a Band-Aid."

To an extent, I get it.

Being the executive director of Greener Village, the largest food bank in New Brunswick, has given me valuable insight into how food banks have evolved. I realize the beginnings and how the need for food banks has only increased over the last 40 years.

In fact, in 2022 food banks saw the highest level of need ever, with 23,000 visits in March in New Brunswick alone.

Some may say that this proves food banks are an inefficient model and should be scrapped since they don't help solve food insecurity. Those same opinions typically throw out several more concerns: "Food banks don't provide good food," we're told. Or that food banks cause shame, are judgmental or don't pay attention to the cultural needs of people.

I had the privilege of attending a conference about food systems several weeks ago. It was wonderful to hear about all the great initiatives throughout the Atlantic region to promote local food access, affordability and fairness.

It was great to hear the presenters from academia, business, agriculture and food charities talk about the need for local food production, processing and procurement.

One of the opinions expressed at the conference framed food charity as a Band-Aid. It took the air out of the room for a minute for me, as I realized that there are many people (including people at a food systems conference) in our communities who don't have an accurate understanding of how organizations like Greener Village actually function.

We're not fixing small scrapes on a knee

So let me be very clear. Food banks are not a Band-Aid. A Band-Aid is a little strip of plastic that you put on a small wound. It's something that can be used for minor cuts and maybe on the odd scrape.

Food banks are not dealing with something so trivial. Food banks are dealing with a serious and systemic issue.

So, the picture I'd like to put in your mind when you think about the rising prevalence of hunger in our communities is that of a person who just lost a limb.

Without immediate intervention, they are at risk of bleeding to death. We know that stemming the bleeding will not put this person back to perfect health, but the bleeding needs to stop if life is to be preserved.

Food banks across our country are tourniquets that are stemming the bleeding.

Here's what you need to know. Your local food bank is saving lives.

Let me tell you about some of the feedback we receive from our clients. It often feels overwhelming to read a phrase like this: "the food bank saved our lives."

My mind used to immediately discount that kind of thing. After all, we aren't firefighters, search and rescue, or health-care professionals. But the more feedback we receive, the more we hear that sentiment, over and over again.

It's time that we as food bankers take our role seriously and talk about it with our communities.

Here's what you need to know. Your local food bank is saving lives.

The challenges are systemic

But the work isn't completed. We know that hunger is rising and that there are systemic challenges from food supply, waste, cost, availability and perhaps most importantly adequate awareness and education.

That's all before we even consider the challenge of income inequality, inflation and housing.

These most recent factors caused a 41 per cent increase in Greener Village client demand in 2022 alone.

WATCH | Alex Boyd spoke in December with the CBC's Alexandre Silberman about how inflation is affecting food banks:

How inflation is pinching food banks during the holidays

2 years ago

Duration 4:50

The soaring cost of food is pushing more people to turn for help. The CBC's Alexandre Silberman visits Greener Village in Fredericton to see how the cost of a Christmas food box has spiked 30 per cent in a year.

All of these things need to be addressed if we are truly going to eliminate food insecurity. It is going to take a robust group of leaders who can begin to tackle all these issues at a policy level.

We need long-term solutions that factor in growing demand, increase in population and climate change.

Food banks play a critical role in filling the gaps. That's why places like Greener Village (and there are many) have "learning kitchens," which focus on food education.

It's why 60 per cent of what we spend on food goes to local and fresh food, and our hampers mirror this percentage in fresh and frozen food given to clients. Assumptions that food banks distribute unhealthy food are not true.

It's why we create many different hampers for people with different dietary, health and cultural needs.

It's why we work to divert edible foods from landfills and to make sure that we can get them to the people who need them most.

So while we wait for good, sustainable systemic solutions to the challenges of hunger and food insecurity, food banks will continue to be here every month of the year.

We will continue to sustain lives, fill gaps and innovate to address a growing problem.

And, we will be here for those times when life throws you a curveball that you didn't expect.