Edmonton charities soon feeling the pinch of soaring gas prices

Soaring prices at the pump are taking a toll on Edmonton charities that provide services to those in need and do a lot of driving, saying the high gas prices could affect their operation in the long run.

At Edmonton’s Food Bank, 43,000 families a month are being helped to keep their bellies full. But delivering to and from the facility is not an easy task, with 22 trucks doing the work.

“More than $10,000 a month currently for our fuel, just fuel. It doesn’t include insurance or other incidentals to make sure that we can get those trucks on the road,” said Tamisan Bencz-Knight, a spokesperson with Edmonton’s Food Bank.

But their average fuel cost may change if the conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues. This would affect their purchase of buying food.

“We’re purchasing thousands of dollars worth of food from an egg bill of $14,000 a week to shelf-stable milk … so it does cost us, and if we take money from one area, where do we get it from another?” asked Bencz-Knight.

Gas prices went up by 7 cents from the previous week, and it’s not the only charity that may soon feel the impact.

The Hope Mission has trucks accepting food donations as well as vehicles for logistics and rescue vans.

The charity says some services for vulnerable Edmontonians could be impacted. But it remains hopeful to see gas prices change soon.

“I mean, our main concern is for our clients, the people we serve, making sure that we can provide the services that we want for them. And I guess another issue for them that we’re concerned about is … the pressure that gas prices put on affordability in general, and we’ll be watching to see if more people are coming to our doors,” said Brenton Dreidger, a spokesperson with Hope Mission.

But prices at the pump may increase further if the conflict between Iran and the United States drags on.

“It’ll be a much slower growth at this point versus a sudden jolt that we will see if the president holds true to his threats and follows through on what would be considered extreme comments that were made on his social media accounts,” said Matt McLain, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.

If the war drags on, both Edmonton charities have to find a way to save money without affecting the services.

“We’ve been even working with our community food depot, so if they can only accept 20 households, maybe they can increase to 25 to help us weather those increases,” said Bencz-Knight.