Stable.
That's what numbers at the Humboldt Food Bank (HFB) have been since March of last year.
A year ago, in January and February, the HFB experienced a spike in usage, going up to 90 households using their services.
In March, reported Laura Willison of the HFB, they dropped back down to 65 households, and they've stayed around that, on average, every month since.
Those March numbers are significant, Willison explained, as that's when the "Hunger Count" is done - their statistics from March are what their share of provincial donations of money or food are based on.
"Our portion comes back to us based on the statistics in March," she said.
Statistics are kept every month at the HFB, and they noticed a rise in the number of children accessing their services in October.
In that month, 63 households used the food bank, including 187 individuals - 103 of those children under 18.
"That's kind of scary for us. It's almost half," she said. "That was our highest month for children all through the year, but they still serve quite a few children all through the year.
Why was there such a spike last year? Willison isn't sure.
"Maybe people were out of work? I really don't know. Humboldt is a booming community with lots of people moving in here," she said. "We have had immigrants coming in. We help them get on their feet and then never see them again.... Humboldt has really attracted quite a few immigrants and we encourage them to come. That's what we're there for - to help them through a temporary tough time."
The HFB, a member of the Saskatchewan and Canadian Food Bank associations, gets no government funding and relies on donations of food and funds to complete their mandate: to provide food to anyone needing help and get people through tough times.
Those who use their services include single parents, low wage earners, and those whose circumstances in life mean they need a little help for a short time.
Food security has become a big issue in this community, Willison noted.
"Open your eyes and you can see how people are really in need of us," she said.
The HFB has helped young and old, working people and students.
"It breaks your heart, actually," she said, to see people having such a tough time.
Their only mandate is to hand out food, she noted, but when they see people in need of more help, they encourage them to seek other supports from other agencies.
The bank is open once a week, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and is run by about 25 dedicated volunteers who do everything from grocery shop to stocking shelves, filling hampers and hauling garbage.
"The volunteer spirit is so alive in this town," Willison smiled. "I feel privileged to live in a such a wonderful, caring and giving community where volunteering is a part of people's lives."
A number of young volunteers come and help out on a regular basis, Willison said. Many come from local schools and help stock shelves and the like.
"It's so great to see young people getting involved in this. They're developing a spirit of volunteerism at a young age."
The HFB encourages people to use their services just once a month.
Those accessing help from the food bank receive a hamper with enough food in it for three to five days.
"It's meant to be a short-term solution to hard times," Willison said.
The hampers vary in size, depending on the size of the household. In it there is milk, bread, margarine, eggs, meat, potatoes or rice, fresh fruit, cereal, pork and beans, canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned meat or fish, juice, soup, pasta, pasta sauce and peanut butter.
There are also special additions if there are special donations. For instance, right now, the HFB has fish donated by a local wildlife federation, and pork donated by an area farmer.
The only catch with this type of donation, she noted, is that all the meat processing has to be done by a government inspected agency.
"We cannot accept home preserves, baking or meat done on the farm," she said, according to their regulations.
For children, the HFB provides school lunches for three days - a juice box, cheese and crackers, a fruit cup and a granola bar.
They try to be sensitive to people's dietary needs, she said, and accommodate any special diets, like those for diabetics or celiacs, or if people have allergies to something.
The HFB gets huge support from the community, Willison noted. Churches, schools, organizations, businesses and other workplaces, as well as individuals have done food drives for them in the past year, which helps keep them going.
The local grocery stores are also all very supportive. They have collection bins at their stores, and do drives for the HFB on a regular basis.
The HFB is a registered charity and can issue receipts for donations.
Their postal address is Box 2021.
Those wishing to use the HFB must fill out an application form and bring in identification.
