Donations are down at the Agape Centre in Cornwall which runs a community food bank and soup kitchen, according to organizers.
Maurice Dupelle, the chair of the board of directors, says donations are down 31 per cent.
“We’re staying above board… but July has kicked in to a harder time than we’ve seen in a long time,” Dupelle said.
Dupelle says the food bank serves 25 families each day, and the soup kitchen feeds more than 100 people daily.
He says the centre continues to receive non-perishable items. The struggle is affording fresh foods which come at a higher cost. On Monday, Dupelle says the food bank was out of meat and carrots.
“We need monetary (donations) because we need to buy the fresh items… all your fresh items, your meats, we need to go out and purchase those kinds of things.”
Dupelle believes the drop in donations could be related to the minimum wage increase.
“Employers or business partners have to reduce some costs there for them to continue doing business, and maybe people who regularly donate to us, their hours may have been cut.”
The cost to keep the building is 5-thousand dollars a month, according to Dupelle. Agape runs a thrift shop, which covers a portion of the bills, but Dupelle says that is not enough.
“Management has done an amazing job with reducing the overhead expenses… but as you know we have a mortgage on the building, and there’s all the things that go with running a centre this size, he said”
The board of directors has decided to put out a plea asking for donations of any sizes.
They also plan to roll out some additional fundraising initiatives in the coming weeks.
