The Salvation Army is to launch a new initiative aimed at the Island’s hungry.One Box Plus One Family Equals Hope was created as a consequence of the rise in the number of families dependent on the charity for food each month, said Major Shawn Critch.The charity’s food programme regularly assists about 325 households per month, although that number rose to 400 two months this year.Maj Critch said the Salvation Army was assisting about 225 families each month when he assumed his post there in late 2010.The increase is not unique to Bermuda, he said.Branches of the Salvation Army in the United States have seen similar increases since the economic crisis began.One Box Plus One Family Equals Hope asks that specific items are donated to create a five-day menu for people in need.Each box will include corned beef, rice, baked beans, spaghetti sauce, pasta, corn nibblets, turkey and chicken, potatoes, peas, carrots, macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles.“A menu plan has been developed using these items,” Maj Critch said. “Other items in the box will include cereal, pop tarts, fruit cups, vienna sausages and granola bars.”He also said that talks with both the Corporation of Hamilton and the Bermuda Housing Corporation to provide opportunities and housing options.With the demand for services rising, Maj Critch said Salvation Army hopes to raise a total of $2 million to fund its various services, but the 2012 May Red Shield Campaign fell short of its goal or raising $250,000.“We are currently $115,000 below budget and we look to the community to assist us in reaching this critical financial goal,” he said.While Maj Critch said the Island has very little if any absolute poverty, which leaves people without food, shelter, clothing and other basic necessities, the issue of relative poverty is a growing concern.Relative poverty, he explained, indicates a lack of economic self sufficiency and an inability to participate fully in daily life in a way comparable to others in the community.“Various studies have concluded that poverty leads to painful choices between necessities,” Maj Critch said. “It often leads to hunger or unhealthy eating, poor health, interrupted schooling, homelessness or poor quality housing, substance abuse, crime and violence.”He said in 2008, a study estimated around 11 percent of the Island, around 3,100 households, fell below the low income threshold line. In all cases, shelter or housing accounted for 60 percent of an average household’s budget.“Another interesting conclusion from the study was that in 2007, the food threshold for a single adult in Bermuda was calculated at $8.19 per day and represented the minimum expenditure needed to fund a nutritionally adequate diet for one adult,” Maj Critch said.“Now adjust that figure for inflation during the past five years and you find yourself facing a very challenging reality. The recent community conversation around the need for price control on staple food products speaks for itself.”He said in order to tackle the challenge of poverty, all sectors of society must take action, including individuals, families, parishes, charities, businesses and government.Useful website: www.salvationarmy.ca/bermuda/