Cross-Border Food Support for Timiskaming First Nation in Quebec

The Salvation Army Temiskaming Community Church continues to help a nearby First Nation community in Quebec dealing with food insecurity.

The northern Ontario town of Temiskaming Shores is just minutes from the Quebec/Ontario border and a 20-minute drive east of town, in Quebec, is Timiskaming First Nation (TFN), a community of 540 residents.

Each month since September 2021, Lieut. Brandon Keeping of The Salvation Army Temiskaming Community Church, with the support of volunteers and First Nations organizations, make monthly trips to deliver food to 10 TFN families requiring much-needed support.

Lieut. Keeping said the need to address food insecurity in Quebec was initially not even on the radar, as all donations raised by The Salvation Army in a community are intended to remain in that community. Then COVID-19 hit.

“We started getting calls from residents in that area asking to access our food bank as there are no food bank options near Timiskaming First Nation,” explains Lieut. Keeping. “We are very grateful for our community partners and volunteers who’ve made this possible. We mobilized quickly to share hope in Timiskaming First Nation, and we’ll continue to help families in the community who are struggling with food insecurity.”

Food insecurity is a major issue in communities across northern Ontario due to the high prices for fresh fruit and vegetables because of transportation costs.

Items provided include non-perishable food, school lunch items, snacks and eggs, bread and milk. Every week Walmart provides their food recovery good which can include meat products to The Salvation Army Food Bank to help the cause.

Like many communities, the demand for food and support from The Salvation Army in the Temiskaming area is rising, partially due to impacts of the pandemic, increase in inflation and cost of living.

“We do need more donations because the need has gone up across the board. We’ve had a 51 per cent increase over the last year of individuals served at the food bank in 2021,” Lieut. Keeping says.