Salvation Army Needs Our Help

Seeking aid for the helpers NANCY MACPHEE The Journal PioneerSUMMERSIDE — Marj Montgomery has faith the community will continue to help the Salvation Army help those struggling in the wake of rising fuel costs. With gas and home heating fuel at more than $1.40 a litre — and climbing — lines at the Summerside soup kitchen and food bank are getting longer. “Our numbers have gone up drastically,” said Montgomery, the Army’s community and family services co-ordinator. “When I came here, we were doing about 1,050 meals a month at the soup kitchen. Last month, we served over 1,550 people. That is a substantial jump.”Food bank usage has also dramatically increased — especially surprising given the time of year. “We are seeing a lot of new faces,” said Montgomery. “Right now we should be seeing a decline. But, in fact, we’re seeing an increase.”She’s shocked to see more students accessing the soup kitchen, something she attributed to parents on fixed incomes or making minimum wage who simply can’t afford to hand out lunch money or buy items for school lunches. “That’s not saying much for us, as a society, that we’ve got young people coming to the soup kitchen. It blows you away, doesn’t it? It does me.”Montgomery said the situation is only going to get worse. As fuel, prescription drug and wheat prices continue to climb, many Prince County families will have to make tough decisions. Food may be last on the list, said Montgomery. “When you can’t put a lunch together for a child to go to school, that’s sad.”The Salvation Army is also in a crunch. In late 2007, it paid $385 for 100 gallons of furnace fuel. The same bill this past Friday was $529.99.And donations of rice, flour and cereal are down considerably.Montgomery said the Salvation Army was “quite fortunate” to receive a share of $200,000 government donated to the Island Army’s fuel program. But, that too, is almost exhausted. “We’re hoping that we will be able to hold onto some of that for this winter.”The food bank and soup kitchen depend on donations from the community to exist. Two recent food drives have ensured the cupboards are well stocked for summer. But Montgomery worries what will happen beyond that. “How do you prepare yourself? When you depend on donations and you depend on the goodwill of the community, we have to be realistic and think that they are going to look after themselves and their families first and then make donations to us,” she added. “I look at it and try to be very optimistic that the community will provide. They have in the past and I am sure they will in the future. We can only expect so much.”

My Comments: This situation is only going to worse before it gets better. With the cost of fuel rising so is everything else- food, clothing, monthly bills such as utilities. You are also at a disadvantage if you live outside Charlottetown as there is no method of public transportation. The topic is broad and extensive to cover here as there are many factors top consider. Energy reduction, lack of financial incentives for people to reduce their energy costs.

What the Federal Government can do?
· Cut the GST off home heating oil as MLA Mike Currie has suggested in the media
· Cut the GST off all family essentials
· Implement strategy for the production of green vehicles that rely less on fossil fuels- the technology is there but the will does not seem to be there at the Federal level to make this happen

What can the Province do?
· Island wide transit system- This will assist those who need to travel to urban areas to work.
· Encourage and provide financial incentives for all Islanders to reduce energy costs by retrofitting their homes with solar panels, pellet stoves, etc.