Author: Anonymous
So first of all, no shame in being at the point that you need to use the food bank.
More people have been there than will ever admit it. In 2025, over 2.1 million Canadians used food banks. Once you get home, you look grateful for the food they gave you, but unsure of how to make the disjointed items they gave you work together. Little secret: the items often don’t go together, and you will have to get creative.
I know by now you have learned to shop the sales and to price compare and use coupons and every other little thing you can to stretch a penny. One thing I have had the luck of doing is going with a friend who also needed the food bank; we would gratefully accept what was given and then trade things later we didn’t eat. This is why having frank discussions with your friends about where your finances are. Saying I’m sorry I couldn’t afford something for my friend instead of trying to keep up appearances was the best thing that happened to us. So after we go to the food bank together, we will sort, share, and trade items. She takes my rice, and I get the pasta she hates!
If you know there is just no way you can make it this month, and you have to use the food bank, factor that in; do that first, before shopping. Then you will know what you need to fill in the gaps. Got Kraft Dinner but no milk, and can’t afford the amount of milk you need for the amount of Kraft Dinner you know you are going to have to eat this month? A tip I learned, actually from my mother-in-law, was to take some powdered coffee whitener and use that and some water to substitute; it makes it oddly creamy, believe it or not.
The other thing is to think outside the box, literally. You have Hamburger Helper, but no hamburger, and that stuff is just way too expensive this month? Any other meat will do, even a can of ham flakes or tuna. In my house, we make ‘hope for the best’; that is where I dump a bunch of cans of things that I think go together, add a sauce, maybe if I can afford it, add cheese at the end, throw it in my crock pot and hope for the best! Some of my family’s favourite meals have been hope for the best. Also, learn what can work instead; have some tough pork? Cook it low and slow with some cream of anything soup and add some veggies and potatoes around the edge for a one-dish supper.
Learn how easy and cheap frozen veggies can be substituted for fresh in most recipes. Save your money for spices. A good spice collection can save even the saddest of canned goods. Remember, there is no shame in using the food bank if that is what it takes to take care of your family for one more month.
Learning these strategies helped me, and I am hoping that seeing that it is not a moral failure to use resources will help you more effectively be able to use the resources in your own community. Also, once you are able to have your feet under you, then you can focus on moving forward to financial independence and, in turn, being able to help others with the lessons you have learned.
