With Surrey Urban Mission's Surrey Welcome Hub as a backdrop, B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad announced a plan Saturday (Oct. 12) to support food banks and community kitchens around the province with "consistent" funding.
Rustad cited the ever-growing need for food banks and community kitchens in B.C., noting the poor grade B.C. had received from Food Banks Canada in its Poverty Report Card last fall. He quoted statistics showing that use of food banks has increased 57 per cent since 2019.
“When I look at what we need to do as a province, we need to make sure we are looking after the needs of the vulnerable," he said.
“We need to be able to have consistent funding from the government in order to support these facilities.”
Rustad said the Conservative Party hasn't set a specific amount for how much funding would be provided to food banks and community kitchens, Rather, he said, his goal is to work with food banks and community kitchens to arrive at a number that works for them.
He also noted he'd rather food banks weren't needed at all but would prefer that British Columbians had "better wages" instead, but in the meantime what's needed is consistent annual funding for food programs.
Asked how his party would cover the costs of such funding, coupled with a promise to cut the carbon tax and reduce deficit spending, Rustad said the party expects to release a fully costed platform by Tuesday.
He said the Conservatives expect to have to continue with deficit spending for their first term, if they form government after Oct. 19, but would aim to be back to a balanced budget by a second term.
Jack O'Halloran, CEO of Surrey Urban Mission, was on hand at the announcement.
O'Halloran noted that Surrey Urban Mission was slated to close its community kitchen, Nourish, as of Dec. 12. The centre serves two meals a day for 225 people, totalling 6,000 meals every month for Surrey's most vulnerable population: those living on the street.
He pointed out that SUM had already been forced to close its Core Healthy Living hygiene facility — which offered showers, washrooms and laundry for the unhoused population — due to lack of funding, in September of this year.
“This is a much, much needed service, and we’re very appreciative to John (Rustad) and his team for helping us tell our story," O'Halloran said.
In a release sent out at 10:23 a.m. Saturday morning, the B.C. NDP announced funding "to keep the Surrey Urban Mission's services operational."
On Saturday, the party sent a letter committing to provide the necessary funding to the mission to continue delivering services that provide shelter, meals and access to showers and washrooms for vulnerable people in Surrey.
“Services provided by the Surrey Urban Mission are often the first step to help people get the support they need to find permanent housing and get access to life changing services,” said Amna Shah, B.C. NDP candidate for Surrey City Centre, in a party press release. “We will continue to work with partners to ensure that people have access to the support they need to be healthy and safe as we take action to build the homes people need.”
The release quotes O'Halloran as being "extremely appreciative" of the support.
"People experiencing homelessness rely on the services we offer, and being given the opportunity to keep providing these services is critical to keep people safe and healthy and support the whole community," O'Halloran said in the release.
