Sussex Coldest Night of the Year surpasses goal in face of growing food insecurity

When the Sussex Sharing Club agreed to host a Coldest Night of the Year event, organizers never imagined the event would wildly exceed the fundraising goal.

"I actually get a little emotional when I think of how this community comes together with this event," said Kathy Manklow, the volunteer director for the event.

The Coldest Night of the Year is a two or five kilometre fundraising walk held each February across the country in support of local charities. 

Along with the Sussex event, five other New Brunswick municipalities have Coldest Night of the Year events planned — Fredericton, Miramichi, Moncton, Saint John and St. Stephen — with each event benefiting a different local charity. 

On Friday morning, the Sussex Sharing Club fundraising total surpassed $34,000 — more than $14,000 above the event's goal.

The Fredericton and St. Stephen events also surpassed their fundraising goals as of Friday, with Fredericton raising roughly $132,800 for the John Howard Society of Fredericton and St. Stephen raising around $54,700 for Neighbourhood Works. 

Sussex's event will support the Sussex Sharing Club food bank, which provides food hampers to people in need.

Manklow, who volunteers at the organization's food bank and thrift store, said as amazing as the total is, "it's never enough" because the needs of the food bank have increased over the last few years.

"The demand on the food bank … has just grown beyond what we ever thought we would need in Sussex," she said.

According to Statistics Canada data released in April 2024 on food insecurity, 27 per cent of people in the Atlantic provinces were food insecure in 2022, compared to 23 per cent the year prior.

That is significantly greater than the Canada-wide percentage of 23 per cent in 2022 and 18 per cent in 2021. 

And according to data from Food Banks Canada, there were more than two million visits to Canadian food banks in March 2024 — the highest number in history. Of those, 32,167 visits were in New Brunswick. 

With the cost of food, Manklow said some people have had to choose between paying rent and buying groceries, so being able to get a food hamper catered to their family's needs can relieve one of those stressors.

After food insecurity, Manklow said, comes homelessness. And she said that if someone does end up having to couch surf or stay with family for a while, at least they know they can have food on the table.

She said the hampers can help provide people with a sense of dignity as well. 

With only one day left until the walk, a total of 110 walkers have signed up for the Sussex event. 

Manklow said she's most excited to see everyone descend on Main Street on Saturday evening. 

"We have 17 teams and the teams range from, you know, four, eight, 12 people," she said. "And that they all came together for the same cause is what's really amazing."