Thunder Bay organizations that feed the hungry preparing for higher food prices

Organizations that feed the hungry in Thunder Bay say they're optimistic they can weather the challenges brought on by the increasing fuel prices and potential food shortages. 

But, they say, it will be a challenge. 

Gas across Canada was selling for around two dollars per litre on Monday — it has averaged around $1.45 in Thunder Bay for the past year — and higher transportation costs stand to drive up grocery prices.

Dew Drop Inn executive director Michael Quibell said he's expecting to see even more hungry people turning up for daily meals as a result.

But Quibell feels confident he could accommodate them.

"Our numbers have escalated over the years, and we kind of met those challenges, and we're running very efficiently and effectively now," Quibell said. "So definitely, we could accommodate higher numbers."

The Dew Drop Inn receives large amounts of food from the Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA), including food from an organization called Second Harvest, which collects donations of stale-dated food from local grocery stores. 

As long as those systems remain robust, he said, it would take a significant catastrophe for the Inn to get to a place where it was unable to meet the demand for meals — though there are some foods that could run short. 

"If there was a lunch meat shortage or something like that, that could definitely hurt us," Quibell said. "That's something that we …can't stock up on and kind of rely on getting weekly or bi-weekly just to keep it fresh."

The Dew Drop Inn has a number of fundraisers planned for the year, including an online auction in April, weekly barbecues in the summer, and a take-home dinner with the United Way.

One of the Dew Drop Inn's major suppliers said high transportation costs could lead to changes in the kinds of foods it supplies to food banks and feeding programs — or to the amount of food it supplies. 

Currently, the RFDA ships fresh fruits and vegetables in from southern Ontario around once per month.

"That's going to be problematic, because I know we're going to be seeing a huge increases in costs," said executive director Volker Kromm. "That's somewhere between $4,500, $5,500 per load. Now, if you imagine the fuel prices doubling, what does that do to our costs?"

Kromm had been hoping to increase the veggie shipments to the RFDA, but he's now contemplating the possibility of scaling back slightly instead, he said.