The City of Mount Pearl has helped beef up the reserves of three food banks to the total tune of nearly $12,000.

Three groups—Our Lady Queen of Families St. Vincent de Paul at St. Peter’s school, Mary Queen of the World parish, and the Salvation Army each received a cheque for almost $4,000 yesterday from Mayor Dave Aker.

“You know, nutrition in the city is a big issue, especially in these times of inflation and high interest rates,” he said. “Getting nutrition in the hands of the vulnerable in our communities is very important to the City of Mount Pearl, and I want to give kudos to the loyal volunteers with the food banks who make that happen.”

The money was raised during the city-run “Haunting of Power’s Pond” during the week leading up to Halloween.

Sandra Milmore, president of the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Peter’s, and Our Lady Queen of Families church, has been at this kind of work for 20 years.

She echoes a sadly familiar refrain when it comes to demand for their services.

“What we find, too, is a lot of young couples and young working people who are only making minimum wage, because with the rent prices and everything else that’s gone up, like gas and just the cost of living in general, that’s prompted people to come,” she said. “We have seniors, which is sad to see, but we help them as best we can.”