Kindersley Food Bank sees low oil price push demand for hampers

The oil slump is hitting home in communities like Kindersley where the energy industry has long been a big part of the local economy.
 
Denise Webster with the Kindersley Food Bank said it’s been impossible to miss the effect of oil prices below $40 a barrel in the region.
 
“As the price of crude oil dropped, you could literally see the activity in the area starting to diminish,” she said.
 
As the oil industry has pulled back, Webster said the food bank has seen a sharp rise in the need for its services.
 
“It doubled. The number of requests for hampers from January to November doubled,” she said.
 
Webster said a few clients are laid-off oil workers who’ve decided to stay in Kindersley to avoid uprooting their families. But, she said most are people either working or laid-off from the service sector.
 
So far, Webster said the downturn doesn’t seem to be hurting donations.
 
“Kindersley has always been a generous supporting community and from all indications they are continuing to do that,” she said.
 
Webster said the real test for the food bank will come after the Christmas season, which she said is traditionally the peak time for demand.