Sea to Sky Community Services (SSCS) has received $60,000 from Airbnb’s Community Fund to purchase emergency provisions at the Pemberton Food Bank. The food bank has seen increasing demand from the community amid rising prices.
“We are deeply grateful to the Airbnb Community Fund for its incredibly generous contribution, which will have a meaningful impact on Sea to Sky Community Services," said SSCS executive director Jaye Russell, in a release. "The contribution will help us reach more individuals and families, offering not just food, but also a sense of connection, stability, and empowerment."
Airbnb's global grant has been awarded annually since 2020, with more than $1.4 million going to 19 Canadian non-profits nominated by local Airbnb hosts. This year, a total of $245,000 went towards SSCS, as well as BC Parks Foundation, the Jewish humanitarian organization Ve’ahavta and Supportive Initiative for Residents in the County of Haliburton (SIRCH) Community Services. Those groups are four of the 160 organizations that received funds from Airbnb since the grant's inception.
The grant comes as food bank demand is increasing across Canada; The pressures of inflation and rising housing costs have driven record-breaking numbers of visits to local food banks across the country, according to a November study by Food Banks Canada—and Pemberton isn't immune.
In 2024 alone, the Pemberton Food Bank saw 7,567 total visits to the program, 12 per cent of whom were children. Residents can feel the cost-of-living increases more acutely than in large population centres. Food in Pemberton can average 10 to 20 per cent more than in Whistler and can be up to 50 per cent higher than in Vancouver, according to figures shared by SSCS.
"So this [donation] is a huge impact for us in terms of supporting that demand from the community and that burden for us as an organization," Russell told Pique.
To help address the impact of those costs on Pembertonians, the SSCS manages a Food Hub, which works to address upstream issues around food insecurity in the valley. The Food Hub is funded in partnership with United Way British Columbia.
SSCS is also working towards a community hub in the new Harrow Road development, and is currently seeking funds for the project. Russell said while the Pemberton Food Bank is expected to stay in its current location, the SSCS will work to make food available out of the Harrow Road site, with a kitchen and cooked meals on hand.
“I certainly always say to my team that food is the beginning in conversations around community and social support," she said. "Our programs, you can imagine, across the organization, rely very much on conversations and connections and trust that we can build with the community and individuals who need our support and food is often that starting point.”
The Sea to Sky Regional Hospital District recently earmarked $1 million for the Community Hub in its 2025 budget and will work with the SSCS to help the Hub secure a critical health-care designation from the province to initiate the transfer of funds.
"It's not surprising for me to see a community partner like Airbnb coming up and stepping forward, seeing a need in the community and supporting a need through this particular donation," Russell said. "We know this community is incredibly supportive, and support from Airbnb just reinforces that for me."
The Pemberton Food Bank’s services are available on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1343 Aster Street. For assistance outside of those hours, SSCS asks residents to contact [email protected] or 604-698-5521.
Donations can be made to the food bank through its website.
