Mobile Food Market says it might close location due to funding cut from province | CBC News
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A non-profit organization that brings mobile food markets to parts of Halifax and the Musquodoboit Valley says it might have to stop serving one of the locations it does because of a funding cut from the provincial government.
The Mobile Food Market partners with local farmers and businesses to sell food for affordable prices at markets in Fairview, north-end Halifax and Dartmouth, and the Musquodoboit Valley.
Executive director Mandy Chapman said they are receiving $20,000 less from the province, down from the previous $100,000.
“Now is not the time to cut mobile food markets,” she said. “Now is the time to invest in them.”
The province has come under heavy fire for cuts it says are necessary to deal with a $1.2-billion deficit.
As a result of the funding cut, Chapman’s already changed a full-time position into a part-time one.
“We can’t possibly do as much as we can with little manpower,” she said. “We will potentially have to cut a market.”
Besides funding from the province, the organization receives $175,000 from the Halifax Regional Municipality, while its annual sales are about $650,000, said Chapman.
She said the likeliest market to get cut would be the Saturday morning market in Fairview, which takes place next to the Centennial Arena.
Chapman said that’s because the Fairview market is the one most heavily dependent on staff, not volunteers. The rent is also higher at that location compared to others.
Customer David Aalders was at the Fairview market Saturday morning. He said the market provides an important service.
“You need to stretch budgets being, you know, things are very expensive,” he said. “I can clearly see that when I buy some groceries from some of the bigger retailers. I’m like, ‘I have a bag here, a bag of stuff, and that’s like $60. What’s going on?'”
With two adult daughters living at home, Aalders said it is important for him to keep his home’s pantries stocked, especially with healthy food. But sometimes those options are too expensive.
“I have a woeful lack of greens, as my partner tells me, in my diet,” he said. “If I see something that’s, you know, $4 or $5 [for a] head of lettuce, I’m going ‘No.'”
Aalders, who also works at a local community pantry, said he sees the need for more affordable food in his community first-hand.
The ongoing war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is driving up fuel prices, which Aalders fears will hurt people’s pocketbooks even further.
Canadian farmers are seeing fertilizer price spikes that could impact food production as the Iran war grinds on. Much of the world’s fertilizer transits through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now closed to most commercial traffic.
Susan Leblanc, NDP MLA for Dartmouth North, brought up the cuts to the Mobile Food Market at Friday’s question period at the legislature.
“This government should be expanding the funding they’re getting,” she said. “Will the minister make sure the Mobile Food Market and groups like it get the funding they need now and in the future?”
Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage Minister Dave Ritcey said the province is spending $4 million through its feeding communities fund, which supports things such as meal programs, community fridges and pantries.
“We’ll continue to work with that community partner to see what we can do moving forward,” said Ritcey.
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