Early start to winter keeping food bank and fuel company busy

An early start to cold temperatures on P.E.I. thiswinter has a lot of Islanders paying for more fuel to heattheir homes,which could be impacting their grocery budgets.

CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland said November, December and January, all saw below-seasonal temperatures for the entire month. Although February hasbeen warmeron average so far, there have been a few of colder than normal stretches.

The Upper Room Food Bankin Charlottetownsays they see a spike in usage during the winter months.

General manager MikeMacDonaldsaid more people were reaching out for help in November and Decemberwith theearly start to thewinter season.

"We would usually see about 300 more individuals using our food bank when we compare to our summer months," he said.

"Lack of year-round work might be part of it but a lot of people mention the cold and heating their homes and the extra costs that go with that."

MacDonald said the Upper Room helped about 1,600 peoplewith food this January.

He says it's a similar pattern every year clients overwhelmed with the costs of a cold winter.

"We're always going to see those spikes of cold weather but it's when it's stretched over a longer period of time is when we really see the difference and I think people really struggle through those times."

MacDonaldsays the higher demand during the winter months is experienced by food banks across P.E.I.

Others are also trying to deal with the challenge of paying for more fuel to heat their homes.

The owner ofoildelivery company Feasible Fuels says it's about twice as busy as last year. Itoffers smaller amounts of fuel for those peopleconcerned they are running out but can't afford to fill up their home tank.

Jeff Mellish said more than 100calls are coming in daily from people worried about their oil tank running dry.

"The colder the weather, the harder it is, especially with this wind that's blowing today, it really takes temperatures down in houses," Mellish said. "We definitely see people struggle to keep the heat in their houses."

Mellish says they now have twice the number of trucks they did last year working on the Island. He estimates natural growth in the business accounts for some of thatbut the rest is due to the longer winter.

"It definitelyaffects everybody's budget. It doesn't matter who you are, when the temperatures drop like this, the furnace is just using more oil."

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