The need for the Summerland Food Bank has increased significantly over the past year.
John Bubb, president of the food bank, said 272 households in Summerland were served by the food bank from Nov. 1, 2014 to Oct. 31, 2015.
This represents an increase from a year earlier when 239 Summerland households were served by the food bank.
Those in the households affected included 393 adults and 188 children, up from 557 people a year earlier.
Bubb said the greatest increase is in the number of single people who have gone to the food bank for assistance over the past year.
“The last analysis I did, we recorded a 22 per cent increase in the number of single people needing assistance,” he said.
Of those receiving help from the food bank over the past year, 118 were singles.
He added that there are funding sources available to assist families and seniors, but not for singles who are not retired.
Some of those accessing the food bank include people receiving some money from employment, those on social assistance, those receiving provincial disability support and those on pension.
“We desperately need an increase in our welfare rates,” he said.