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Every year when the giant inflatable turkey comes out at the Griffiths Ford dealership in Hinton, Alta., the town’s residents know the holiday season has arrived.
It’s a sign to drop off turkeys or cash donations to support the Hinton Healthcare Foundation and the Hinton Food Bank.
“In a town like ours, if you don’t give back, your community doesn’t grow and it’s just too important,” said Griffiths Ford owner Garth Griffiths, the foundation’s chair and the organizer of the fundraiser.
Over the years, he estimates the event has raised $125,000 in cash and turkeys.
In the past, the funds have gone towards medical equipment for the hospital. But Griffiths said this year there’s a more pressing need: attracting and recruiting doctors to Hinton.
This year’s turkey drive will raise funds to create incentive packages. These packages will offer accommodations, determined on a case-by-case basis, for new and visiting doctors.
WATCH | How the Hinton turkey drive supports health care and food security:
Hinton’s turkey drive addresses doctor shortage in addition to food security
Hinton’s annual turkey drive is back, this time raising money to help recruit doctors and fund accommodations for new and temporary physicians. It also sees turkeys go to the Hinton Food Bank, where demand has more than tripled in the last five years.A new challenge
Dr. Andrea Rahn, a local family physician, says the doctor shortage is a relatively new challenge for the town of 10,000 people, which is located about 300 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Dr. Andrea Rahn is a longtime family physician at the Hinton Medical Clinic, where fundraising dollars will help support physician recruitment. (Adrienne Lamb/CBC)
“Traditionally, Hinton has been a desired community to work in and we’ve never had trouble hiring in the past,” she told CBC News. “But for a number of reasons, medicine has changed significantly and we are now struggling to keep all of our services staffed.”
Fewer doctors means heavier workloads, which Rahn says is a difficult cycle to break, and makes it more challenging to recruit.
It also yields worse patient outcomes, because resources tend to flow towards more acute care, while family medicine is sidelined.
Rahn credits the Hinton Healthcare Foundation with stabilizing the clinic.
“I sleep better at night with them involved because I don’t come to work every day scared that the place I work [at] is going to close,” she said.
Rahn also sees a clear link between food security and health.
“If you’re always distracted by saying, ‘Where is my next healthy meal going to come from,’ it’s really hard to look after yourself and your family in meaningful ways,” she said.
Food bank need has tripled
“Oh my goodness, everybody gets a turkey — that’s to start with,” said Lisa Cumby, secretary for the Hinton Food Bank.
The food bank’s holiday hampers are then rounded out with cranberries, potatoes or “whatever would help make the individual’s holiday dinner just a little bit more special.”
Lisa Cumby, secretary for the Hinton Food Bank, has been a dedicated volunteer for more than a decade. (Adrienne Lamb/CBC)
But support is needed year-round. Established in 1986, the Hinton Food Bank sees around 100 clients per week, supporting 200 people in the community.
After a decade of volunteering, Cumby says she has watched the profile of clients change.
“One of the biggest changes would be [that] many of the people we see on a weekly basis are employed. … There’s either been cutbacks in hours, or there have been layoffs,” she said, adding that seniors and those living on fixed incomes have also become frequent users.
In the last five years, Cumby estimates the need has tripled, if not quadrupled.
And it’s not the same people that come through the organization’s doors every week. Cumby says people tend to rely on the food bank only when they really need it. For a lot of people, that’s the holiday season.
“Heating your home goes up, putting gas in your vehicle goes up, people get sick, medication could be going up, prescriptions for some people go up,” she said. “So it is important because it could be me tomorrow — it could be anybody.”
Those who wish to donate can drop off a turkey or cash to the Griffiths Ford dealership at 553 Gregg Ave., up until Christmas Eve.
CBC is bringing you stories about food and affordability as part of the Make the Season Kind campaign — on until December 18.