New vice-chair at Erickson Food Bank

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This article was published 02/11/2023 (693 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Erickson Foodbank, formerly known as the Southquill Health Area Food Bank, is rebranding itself, and has a new vice-chair in Aaron McKay of Rolling River First Nation.

McKay stepped into the role of vice-chair at the foodbank, which is located in Erickson, Man., 80 kilometres north of Brandon, after the organization asked him to join.

“I said, ‘Yes, I’d love to be,’ and so I hope it’s just another way for me to get into the community and help people,” he said.

And while a big part of his role as vice-chair will be making sure hungry people get fed and people struggling with food security find relief, McKay also hopes the role will allow him to provide opportunities for people to establish themselves and for economic growth in the community.

“Let’s say people have an idea for a business or something like that. Well, then the food bank would be a great starting place for them to get that experience,” he said.

The food bank could also be a great place for young people to get experience volunteering and to have something to put on their resume, McKay added. A lot of skills come with volunteering, he said.

“You’re creating those relationships, you’re networking, you’re going to be promoting events and things like that.”

McKay also plans to have Giiwe Media, his multi-media company, promote the food bank and support it. Giiwe Media’s purpose, McKay told the Sun, is to elevate the voices and history of Indigenous people throughout Canada.

Access to nutritious food is an issue for Canadians — Indigenous and non-Indigenous — living on and off reserve, and in all communities across the country, McKay said. According to Statistics Canada, 54.2 per cent of First Nations people who live on reserve don’t have regular access to proper food. Twenty-four per cent of First Nations people living off-reserve eat poorly and 33 per cent had limited access to food.

The Manitoba Association of Home Economics says on their Home & Family website that people of any age, race and gender can be at risk of having insufficient access healthy food or being too poor to buy it.

There are certain groups, however, that are at greater risk — households with children (specifically single parent homes), homes where individuals identify as Indigenous or Black, those living with disabilities or chronic illness and recent immigrants.

In Manitoba, 14.4 per cent of households have limited access to proper food. Children, Indigenous people, racialized people, single parents, newcomers, and people in northern communities are especially vulnerable, the association says, and the number is probably even higher as thisnumber doesn’t include homeless people or Indigenous people living on reserves.

In 2017-18, about one in five children in Manitoba lived in households that reported being food insecure. One in eight Canadian households, ore more than 4.4 million people in Canada, are food insecure.

Food insecurity is a human challenge, McKay says.

“It’s something that we all have to come together and fight against. You have kids out there who are going to school hungry. How do you expect these children to have productive days in school when they’re hungry?”

The same goes for university students. Hunger impacts the way people learn, and the way they’re able to be in a society, McKay said.

“It’s definitely a huge issue.”

Emma Robinson, co-oridnator of the Erickson Food Bank, agrees. The food bank services not just the community of Erickson but those of Rolling River First Nation, Sandy Lake, Keeseekoowenin First Nation, and Elphinstone. Currently, around 60 families make use of the food bank from those areas, she said.

McKay, who started his position as vice-chair of the food bank on Oct. 13, is a good fit for the role, Robinson said.

“He’s got a lot of knowledge, and he’s young. He seems like he’s eager, which is great. I’m really excited to work along with him and see what we can accomplish.”

An open house is being planned for the food bank later this month, and Robinson recently put the call out for winter jackets, snowpants, and other gear for all ages to be donated as well.

Thanks to donations of produce from nearby Hutterite colonies, Robinson said the food bank is in good standing now, but always needs more donations going forward.

The Erickson Food Bank is open for hamper pickup every Wednesday from 12 to 3 p.m.

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