An increase in food prices across the country, coupled with unemployment due to the global wide pandemic, has resulted in a significant increase in use of food banks across Canada.
Provincially, there has been a 23.5 per cent increase in food bank visits in the last two years, with children in Ontario accounting for 32 per cent of food bank users and seniors representing 9.4 per cent — the highest it’s been since the 2008 recession.
Locally, the Barrie Food Bank has seen an increase of approximately 36 per cent year over year, says executive director Sharon Palmer.
“We are seeing tremendous growth in terms of the need in the community, and we are also facing increased costs for operations," she said. "Food is more expensive for our clients as well as for us. All those inflationary items affect us as well.”
To help meet the need, the Barrie Food Bank launched its annual Holiday Food Drive on Nov. 29, which is set to run until the end of December. The organization has also added extra hours in order to meet the increase in demand, Palmer said.
“We have opened up Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and are trying to get the word out. … We know there are people who work… so we are trying to make it more accessible for those who are unable to get there during the day," she said.
According to Food Banks Canada, since the start of the pandemic, food bank visits have increased by more than 23 per cent in Ontario, which rivals the 2008 recession when it comes to food insecurity. Across the province, single-adult households represent 17.3 per cent of households accessing food banks. Children alone made up 32 per cent of Ontario food bank visits, while seniors made up 9.4 per cent of overall visits.
With the holiday campaign now in full swing, Palmer says Barrie residents are urged to make a food or monetary donation to Barrie Food Bank while they are out grocery shopping to support community members in need.
“The holidays is a time when everybody is focused on it and it helps us through the first several months of winter, (but) we have a continuous need and donations are always welcome,” she said.
In November, the Barrie Food Bank served 1,120 households, which equates to an approximately eight per cent increase over the previous month.
To date, the organization has raised more than $200,000, just shy of its $250,000 goal set for the 2021 Holiday Drive.
“On the food side, we didn’t really have a specific target, but we had just over 40,000 pounds (donated) so far this month, so it’s coming along really well," Palmer said.
Last year, the food bank was unable to collect food due to the pandemic, so Palmer says she's unable to compare the two.
“Last year, we had really strong financial support and then this year, we have switched a bit back to a combination approach, but we focus on the financial, because it gives us the flexibility to buy what we need, when we need it,” she said.
“For things like dairy, meat, vegetables — at this time of year, those are not items we typically get donated. That’s one of the reasons we focus on the financial side," Palmer added.
On top of that, the organization also works with several local grocery stores to get good pricing.
“We can take a dollar, and make it go much further than somebody buying at retail does,” she said. “The grocery stores are also doing a really great job in selling donation bags, so almost all of the major stores in town are selling food bank donation bags and we have been seeing a tremendous response from the community on the sale of those bags.”
That method makes it easy for people to make donations, Palmer acknowledged.
“If they’re already shopping, they can pick up one of those bags and make a contribution and it’s a nice way to give to the food bank,” she said.
Canned meat, granola bars and kid snacks, canned stew, coffee, tea, cereal, pasta sauce and individual oatmeal packages top the list of most needed items this year.
“Sometimes people will donate grocery store gift cards, and that’s really nice because we can use them to buy stuff, but also we can give them to clients to use.”
