The territory needs to double its monthly food donation capacity from 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of food.

That's the belief of Peter Becker, who is drafting a government-funded food bank feasibility study on behalf of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition.

Becker has been researching hunger in the territory for the past two years and feels the need is great.

'The research in the bigger picture and here in Whitehorse makes it clear that we have a problem,' he said in an interview last Thursday.

'We have a problem here. For emergency food purposes, we have less than what the bigger cities have. We need healthier food; it's not just a quantity issue.'

Becker said in the course of writing the feasibility study, he realized that while the food donation services being offered by the Salvation Army and Maryhouse are both necessary and valued, there is a greater need in the city.

The two organizations, Becker said, can only offer food packages once a month (Maryhouse) and once every six weeks (Salvation Army), and offer primarily dried food products.

A food bank, he added, is a non-profit warehouse dedicated to collecting, storing and distributing food more frequently than emergency services.

Across Canada, Becker said, food banks register with the Canadian Association of Food Banks (CAFB).

Whitehorse needs more fresh food on a more regular basis, particularly in the city's first nations communities, his research found.

'A food bank could be a fairly minimal operation but it also could be a dedicated service that provides a few more days of food that goes beyond this 90 per cent to 95 per cent dry good ratio to 50 per cent fresh produce and frozen foods.

'I'd like to see approximately 50 per cent fresh and frozen food and 50 per cent dry goods. I think that's important,' he said.

Of the clients accessing food programs in the city, he added, 75 per cent are of first nations descent.

Becker said his $17,000 feasibility study aims in the direction of a grocery store-style food bank where people can choose the food they need through a point system without going through an interview process.

'I anticipate (a new Whitehorse food bank could be open) early next year in January or late winter in 2008,' he said.

According to CAFB research, there are a number of Canadians who access food banks every month.

In March 2006, according to the CAFB, there were 753,458 Canadians, including 268,744 children, who used food bank services.

In the same month in the Yukon, 795 people accessed food donation services, including 194 children.

Christine Herlihy, of Maryhouse, said Friday she supports the idea of a food bank.

In her experience, working with her organization's emergency food service shows there is a need with the homeless, those on social assistance and the working poor.

She said Maryhouse was only able to provide non-perishable canned foods to people looking for food relief and that wasn't always the healthiest option.

'It's an emergency food program, usually enough for a day or two, not food enough for the month. Clients can access it once a month,' she said.

'I think there's a need (for a food bank). We provide a service and the Salvation Army provides a service but a lot of the people who see us have health needs such as HIV and Hepatitis C and other issues and need fresh food.

'A real food bank could provide those kinds of things,' Herilhy said.

Her organization, she said, helps about 200 people a month.

'Most of them are single males, but we do have single women, some families and couples.'

The territory's social assistance program is not adequate for people to provide for their basic needs, and many people with low-paying jobs also find it hard to make ends meet, she said.

Capt. Robert Sessford of the Salvation Army said his organization, which asks that clients don't pick up food baskets more than once every six weeks, has a mandate to encourage independence.

He said the Salvation Army's food program issues primarily dried and canned goods but also provides fresh fruit and vegetables when they're available.

'It's principally dried and canned goods, pasta, canned fish, soups and tomato-based sauces. It also includes things necessary for baking,' Sessford said.

'We receive (fresh fruits and vegetables) whenever there's a peak, a surplus in the distribution system in the city. That's not everyday; that's whenever somebody has ordered too much stuff,' he said.

'Here at the end of the line (Yukon), there's not a surplus that's readily available.'

He said he feels there should be a focus on nutrition education, not just a food bank.

'In March, we interviewed 133 different people. Of those people, a large portion of them were single dwellers. Amongst them, at least 60 represented children,' Sessford said.

'It's hugely complex, in my opinion, and cannot be addressed simply by having another food bank source.

'One of the biggest challenges we face in running a food bank is shifting the mind set of what food is. Food is not just something you stuff in your mouth,' Sessford said.

Income inequality, he added, also needs to be looked at so that people can buy food already available in the city.

'If you wanted to buy some food and you had money in your pocket, you could get it. You can't say that about every place in the world,' Sessford said.

'I look at government policy changes or social changes that are needed to access food that is here so people can access it with dignity and respect to provide what they need for their family.'