By LETRE SWEETING

lsweeting@tribunmedia.net

SOCIAL Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe said the number of people receiving food assistance has grown by 1,000 since October, climbing to roughly 12,000 monthly, however those receiving help will get an increase of more than 10 percent beginning next week.

In November, Mr Wilchcombe announced that more than 11,000 Bahamians had received food assistance, while also predicting that there will be more in need in the future due to inflation and other financial burdens faced in The Bahamas and worldwide.

Yesterday, Mr Wilchcombe told The Tribune that the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development has had an average of about 12,000 persons receiving assistance from its food assistance programme in recent months.

“We’re continuing that number. We continue to provide. In terms of the numbers that we’ve been feeding, the numbers are pretty much around the 12,000 mark across the country, but generally we’re very pleased that we’ve been able to meet the demands and continue to do so,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

Though a specific breakdown of the monthly feeding numbers was not immediately available, Mr Wilchcombe revealed that Bahamians can look forward to a 10 percent increase in food assistance given as early as next week.

“I do feel good that the projected increases for food assistance goes up ten percent next week for now, this pay period now, ten percent across the board for food assistance,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

“This is very good. People who used to get $84 for instance will now get like $100, so we’ve been able to slowly move it up and we’re very satisfied that since last year we’ve been able to now effectively make it happen,” he said.

Mr Wilchcombe added that Bahamians can also look forward to increasing benefits from the programmes offered by the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development.

“We’re going to take a further look at all the other assistance that we provide and see how best to up the numbers, given the realities of the changing times in our country and in the world,” Mr Wilchcombe said.

In August, the Department of Social Services increased the rates of financial assistance rendered through the community support services division by 10 percent in response to rapid inflation.

And in October, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced several additional relief measures to help struggling Bahamians cope during these difficult times.

Among them included price control expansion and increases to the national minimum wage.

A resolution to increase the minimum wage from $210 to $260 per week was passed in Parliament in November after two days of debate.

That same month, in Parliament, while responding to Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard’s criticisms of the Davis administration, Mr Wilchcombe said the Davis administration was not blind to the challenges being faced by Bahamians due to the high cost of living.

“We know the hurt of our people. I know — 11,749 Bahamians received food assistance last month, 11,749,” Mr Wilchcombe said in Parliament.

“We are providing shelter to 89 families; 180 of our people have received health assistance since July to this month (November 2022),” he said.