Sask. Food banks brace for bite out of bottom line amid tariffs

The Regina Food Bank is gearing up for challenges with the tariffs but is not certain of how it will be impacted yet.

At the direction of United States President Donald Trump, 25 per cent tariffs were put on all Canadian goods imported to the U.S.A., on Tuesday. A ten per cent tariff was placed on Canadian energy.

On the same day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced counter-tariffs calling Trump’s decision “a very dumb thing to do.”

CEO John Bailey said he is anticipating the impacts could include job losses as well as increased food prices.

“When those two things start to happen, we sort of naturally start to see a demand uptick,” he said. “Based on our current trajectory, it’s not a great thing to add another complication to that.”

The Regina Food Bank continues to see numbers of clients climb over the years. (980 CJME file photo)

Bailey said staff are fairly concerned about the situation because of all the unknowns.

That includes bulk ordering food items from the United States, as well as items that would most likely see an immediate impact, like canned goods.

“Making sure that we have more than normal supply of those things, because they’ll last, so if this is just a blip, there is no harm, no foul,” he said. “But if this does have extended pieces, we have a bit of a stockpile before we really start feeling those price crunches on our end.”

Read more:

• Tariffs & Saskatchewan: What you need to know
• Saskatchewan to end U.S. alcohol sales, procurement in response to tariffs
• Saskatchewan NDP criticize premier for getting caught off guard on tariff response

Bailey said his number one concern is the impact on demand for food bank services.

“That’s the big risk for us, we’re really trying to bolster against being in a situation where we don’t have enough appointments or enough food,” he said. “We’re not in danger of that now, but if this has a really dramatic long-term effect, who knows what it looks like six, eight, or 12 months from now.”

Saskatoon Food Bank preparing for the worst as trade war escalates

The Saskatoon Food Bank is echoing similar concerns with a trade war underway.

Executive Director Lori O’Connor said she is confident the food bank will be impacted by the Canada-U.S trade war.

She believes the greatest impact will be big job losses due to the tariffs, which will result in more people needing to use the food bank, as well as a decrease in how much people can donate.

“It’s concerning, it’s also the unknown,” she said. “There is so much uncertainty around the tariffs.

“If we had a clear path to what this might look like in six months, we would be better prepared to address it, so now we just prepare for the worst.”

Laurie O’Connor, executive director of the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre. (650 CKOM file photo)

Part of preparing for the worst as O’Connor explained, is making sure the food bank has enough food in the warehouse and enough staff to help with more people.

“Just thinking about what our food stocks look like, where we’re going to source food from, and then ordering them, thinking about our storage capacity, all of the things that we would normally be doing, but kind of intensified and heightened to prepare,” she said.

O’Connor said the one silver lining is people in Saskatoon and across the province are very caring and always help out when needed. However, she said the increased demand at the food bank won’t be easy to bear.

“My level of concern is probably heightened,” she said. “We have been experiencing very high levels of food insecurity post COVID, and with inflation and all of those other factors. So we’re likely very prepared to manage those concerns, but I don’t know that food banks across the country will be prepared to handle much more of an increase in usage, and that’s kind of a wait and see.”

Shoppers keeping an eye out for local products

Kelly Trachsel felt angry when he first heard 25 per cent tariffs were being put on Canadian goods.

“I think it’s pretty ridiculous, just the idea of putting tariffs on the things that Canadians and Americans need,” he said. “It’s just going to make it more expensive for everyone.”

Trachsel said the next trip to the store he would pay a little more attention to products labelled with a maple leaf.

Viola Nakuti felt she would be burdened by the tariffs.

“It’s not fair, but what do we do now,” Nakuti said. “It’s not fair and it’s going to affect us.”

At this point, she said she was not checking if the products she was buying were made in Canada.

“I am just shopping for what is available and what is cheap,” she said.

— with files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie