Tag Archives: Cortes Island Food Bank

Food

SRD Approves Funding For The Cortes Island Food Bank

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At their May 27 meeting, the Strathcona Regional District Board (SRD) approved a motion to provide the Cortes Island Food Bank with close to $24,000 for its new outlet in Manson’s Landing.

Mark Vonesh (Regional Director, Cortes Island): “I’d like to move that a financial contribution of up to $23,425 be approved from the Electoral Area B Community Works Fund to the Cortes Island Food Bank Association to support construction of a food security hub, subject to finalizing a funding agreement between the association and the regional district.”

The minutes state that Michael Lott of Gold River seconded the motion, but the voice in the audio sounds more like Robin Mawhinney, Regional Director for Area C. 

Mark Baker (Chair of the SRD): “Discussion? All in favor. Motion is passed.”

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Food

Executive Director Responds to 5 Myths about Food Banks

The Cortes Island Food Bank has a new Executive Director. Filipe Figueira retired last November, and Angelica Raaen has been at the helm since then. In this morning’s interview, she responds to five myths about food banks and also talks a little about her new role.

Angelica Raaen: “I think it’s really important that the stigma around food banks and food assistance be addressed, and that everyone who needs to access the food bank—or could use help—feels comfortable doing so. We’re here if anyone needs us.”

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Food, Food Security

The Face of Poverty on Cortes Island

In 2015, the year Justin Trudeau was elected Prime Minister of Canada, more than 5 million Canadians were living in poverty. This number came down every year until 2020, when Canada reached its goal of cutting the number of people living below the poverty line by 50%. However, a new report from the Auditor General of Canada states this was ‘mainly due to the emergency benefits the government temporarily provided because of the COVID-19 pandemic.’ Thanks to inflation and the phasing out of these benefits, close to 4 million Canadians were once again living in poverty by 2023. According to the 2025 Hunger Count, put out by Food Banks Canada, the situation has deteriorated since then. In today’s story, Angelica Raaen from the Cortes Food Bank described what poverty looks like on a remote island.  

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Food, Politics

SRD Will Not Use Gas Tax Funds for Cortes Island Food Bank

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The Strathcona Regional District will not use $28,000 of its gas tax funds to help the Cortes Island Food Bank. At their October 22 meeting, 7 of the 14 district directors voted against a motion to fund the food bank.

Directors opposed to the motion were concerned about the potential impact that supporting a third party organization could have on future SRD applications for gas tax funding. 

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Food

Cortes Food Bank Receives Standards of Excellence Accreditation from Foodbanks Canada

The Cortes Island Food Bank was one of the nation’s first food banks to receive Standards of Excellence accreditation from Food Banks Canada.  

The Association’s President, Beatrix Baxter, explained, “Filipe Figueira, our Executive represented us at the Food Banks Canada Conference in Montreal. During the event, Food Banks Canada honoured food banks across the country that have met their rigorous Standards of Excellence. We are proud to share that Filipe was among a handful of leaders recognized. Achieving this standard takes a tremendous amount of work—especially since so many food banks, like ours, are largely volunteer-run. Few organizations have the capacity to dedicate the hundreds of hours required, which makes this recognition even more meaningful.”

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