Covenant House Vancouver Supports Young People As Cost of Food Rises
byThe is monthly series features the latest updates and news from Covenant House Vancouver. Miss604 is proud to be their Official Blog Partner. This month’s post has been written by Jason Bosher of Covenant House Vancouver.
Covenant House Vancouver Supports Young People
As Cost of Food Rises
Feeling the Pinch
This year, the 14th edition of Canada’s Food Price Report predicts that all provinces may experience price increases of up to 4.5%, across all food categories, with some categories like bakery, meat, and vegetables, to increase in price between 5% and 7%. These increases are attributed mainly to the rising costs of producing food, transporting it, and the detrimental effects of climate change on crop yields.
Food Is a Basic Need
Along with water, clothing, sleep, and shelter, food is a necessity for survival. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs illustrated and explains how basic needs must be met, before other needs like relationships or careers can be realized. Unhoused or precariously housed people are in survival mode. Their basic needs are not being met, so they cannot just “go out and get a job” to solve their problems. If only life was that easy.
The Cost of Raising a Young Person
Canada’s Food Price Report estimated what it would cost to feed a young person, age 14–30. The Report calculated that to feed a young male for a year, it would cost approximately $4,500. One year, for a young female, would cost approximately $3,800.
Covenant House Vancouver Supports Young People
Covenant House Vancouver serves youth from 16–24 years of age. In 2023, they served close to 120,000 meals. With the rising community need, and the opening of two new programs to better support young people, Covenant House expects that number to increase.
Covey’s Cupboard
To help support youth in the community, Covenant House Vancouver has developed a grocery service known as Covey’s Cupboard. Once a week, young people, age 16–24, are able to fill their grocery bags with a variety of fresh, frozen, canned, and dry foods. This service is available through Covenant House’s Drop-In Centre. To find out more about this program, young people can call 604-685-7474, or toll free at 1-877-685-7474.
To help meet the growing demand, Covenant House accepts food and other sundry donations. Please visit their website for more information and for contact information, should you wish to make a donation.
Today, You Can Help Twice as Many Youth!
From now until August 16th, you have a unique opportunity to double your impact and support more young people. Thanks to the generosity of the Steven Chambers Foundation, every dollar you donate during this period will be matched, up to $15,000. This means that your contribution will go twice as far in helping Covenant House combat the rising costs of food, while continuing to provide essential services.
Your donation will help support their kitchen team and Covey’s Cupboard, which will ensure that youth in need have access to nutritious food and the resources necessary to build a better future.
Every donation, no matter the size, will make a significant impact. Please consider donating during the Double Match Campaign and help Covenant House continue to provide vital support to those who need it most. Covenant House Vancouver would like to thank everyone for their unwavering support and
commitment to helping youth in need.
