(Vancouver) Canadian food banks are facing growing demand across the country. The boss of one of them warns that the situation could even get worse quickly.
Increases in food and housing prices, combined with precarious conditions on the job market, are fueling this strong demand which is forcing food banks to check the status of their inventory. Many organizations are entering a crucial funding period.
For example, in Quebec, the demand for food aid has not seen any pause for more than a year, notes Martin Munger, general director of Les Banques consommateurs du Québec, a network of 32 regional organizations which ensures a supply of nutritious foodstuffs to 1,200 community organizations.
“As food prices rise, demand continues to increase,” says Munger.
Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread, a Toronto organization that supports more than 200 programs, admits that “this is the toughest Thanksgiving he’s ever had.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization received 65,000 clients monthly, he says. Last month, that figure stood at 275,000.
Same situation in Vancouver, Cynthia Boulter, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, judges that the current demand is “unprecedented”. Five years ago, his organization helped, on average, 6,000 to 7,000 people each month. Today, that number has risen to 17,000.
According to data from Food Banks Canada, the percentage of seniors seeking help increased from 6.8% in 2019 to 8.9 in 2022. A third of users are children.
The demand is such that food banks and their suppliers are struggling to keep up.
Mr. Munger says that this is the case in Quebec, despite new agreements with producers and distributors, despite financial assistance from the Quebec government.
“The information we have from local food banks is that demand continues to grow, that many people are coming back more often. The number of people using food banks has never been higher. »
He pleads with the population to obtain financial donations in order to be able to buy more food. “We need everyone’s help.”
Mr. Hetherington says he is distraught to see that demand is reaching peaks, despite the country’s low unemployment rate.
“It’s really upsetting,” he says. In my opinion, we are like the canaries in the coal mine. As soon as we see that certain economic indicators are having negative effects on people’s ability to earn income from their employment, as soon as we see an increase in interest rates or changes to loan repayment terms, we know things are going to get really bad soon. »
Mme Boulter says his organization tries to build relationships with food distributors or farmers to obtain fresh food.
“We resort to food donations from the industry, particularly for rejected products. For example: vegetables considered a few centimeters too small or not pretty enough, bread that has been left in the oven for 20 seconds too long. Things like that,” she said.
Additionally, by purchasing in bulk, food banks can “at least double” the value of monetary donations.
Mr. Hetherington believes that people can be helpful even if they can’t give anything.
“Not everyone can donate food or money. We understand them. But anyone can call an elected official to ask them to implement a poverty reduction strategy. All levels of government have one, but we do not push them against the wall, we do not hold them responsible. »