The B.C. government announced Friday, June 5, it has offered an $85,000 grant to help Tri-City municipal governments boost food support for low-income families in the region.
The money will go toward creating a “food security assessment and action plan” for the Tri-Cities and Anmore, as well as building a “food asset map” and a digital platform to share information on what community services are available.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a reminder of how important local food security is to building resilient communities where people have what they need to live a healthy life,” said Port Moody-Coquitlam NDP MLA Rick Glumac in a press release.
“This grant will support people in our community experiencing poverty and food insecurity.”
The money is part of the B.C. government’s Poverty Reduction Planning and Action Program, which the government says will support 29 poverty reduction projects across 54 of the province’s municipalities. The grants, which total $1.4 million and range between $16,000 and $150,000 per project, will be drawn from a $5 million provincial grant that was handed to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM).
All levels of government, various community organizations and even individuals have poured funds into helping families get regular meals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tri-Cities Share Food Bank, for example, has been looking to several creative ways to collect, pack and deliver food, and partnered with then closed schools to act as a staging ground for distribution.
Donations have also been coming in from unexpected places. In April, a 16-year-old singer-songwriter raised over $17,000 in a virtual concert held in her Coquitlam cul-de-sac. And a group of Port Moody debaters moved their competition online in a fundraising effort that will offer participants a chance to wax on about the heroes of COVID-19 and pontificate about the world after quarantine.
Still the need is projected to balloon as people struggle with their personal finances. At the end of March, the B.C. government injected $3 million into Food Banks British Columbia through an emergency grant.
