Manitobans turn to Buy Nothing groups to help ease financial worries as cost of living rises
CBC
When Leah Funk's now four-year-old son grew out of his bike, she turned to an online community for help instead of heading out to buy a new one.
For the last two years, Funk has been a member of different Winnipeg neighbourhood Buy Nothing groups, which offer members a way to give and receive, share and lend with no money exchanged.
"When we got the bike, he was over the moon," she said.
"It was a pedal bike, which he hadn't learned how to ride at that point, so he was just really excited to be able to see that next stage of what his riding abilities were going to," Funk said.
Buy Nothing groups are helping many Manitobans cut back on expenses amid record inflation rates and cost of living increases.
Funk says additional gifts of a baby bike carrier for her one-year-old and a gift of summer clothes for the older one, items no longer being used by a fellow group member, helped her scale back her clothing budget and cover rising food costs.
"My son's favourite thing is raspberries. They're probably one of the most expensive things, but I'm not going to deny him those just because the cost is too high when that's what's going to get him to be healthy and eat fruit," she said.
"To have those kinds of things gifted to us [means] that we can still just get whatever we need at the grocery store."
Funk is among thousands of people who are part of Buy Nothing groups on Facebook and on a newly created app.
There are 55 Buy Nothing groups in Manitoba, including 34 in Winnipeg, with hundreds of members in each.
Christine Nelson-Didych is one of the administrators for the largest and most active Buy Nothing group in Winnipeg — Transcona, with 3,300 members.
She said there's been an increase in memberships and requests for food and household items in the last six months.
"Basic items like bread, eggs, milk and diapers — there's a lot of people really struggling out there, and our group is able to help bridge the gap with that."
Ukrainians displaced by Russian aggression have also moved into the neighbourhood and are receiving assistance from people in the group.
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