As the holiday season approaches, the situation is critical for several food aid organizations: with inflation, demand has exploded, to such an extent that they can no longer meet the demand. “We have a level of demand never seen in the past. And it keeps growing,” says Martin Munger, General Manager of Food Banks of Quebec. Overwhelmed by events, organizations must resolve to offer less stocked shopping baskets and contain less variety, he laments.
“Number 233! The voice echoes over the loudspeakers of the large crowded waiting room of the Relais communautaire de Laval, on the boulevard des Laurentides, very close to a pawn shop and an astrologer who offers to solve problems. of love and money. Dozens of men and women of all ages, blue coupons in hand, are waiting for their number to fill their bags with groceries in the basement of this vast maze which also has a kitchen for community meals and a thrift store.
In a well-synchronized ballet, they parade, looking down, in front of the tables on which the foodstuffs are laid out: proteins, dairy products, vegetables, pasta and legumes, cans, bread and desserts. Behind the counter, volunteers hum and crack jokes to lighten the mood.
“It’s a special today, we have sausage! says a volunteer to the users. This is not the case every week. And although everyone is grateful to be able to receive free food, they find that the baskets are less full than usual.
“It has shrunk quite a bit: before, I left here with a box full of the same, but now I’m leaving with a small half-empty box”, laments André Bruno, 56, who “just left school. ‘homelessness’ after three years sleeping on the streets. He does not criticize, no, because without the help of the Community Relay, he would not be able to eat his fill. But before, he never needed to go to the grocery store. He could even share. This is no longer the case.
For Maxime, 40, not knowing if there will be enough food in his basket creates anxiety. “The other time I came here, there was almost nothing. It’s not easy to wonder how we’re going to eat this week. »
The staff of the Relais communautaire, which serves about 500 households per week, are well aware of the problem. “We have more and more people signing up and the fridges are empty,” laments the services coordinator, Ramona Guru. We repeat to them that we are a food aid: we give according to what we have. »
Stéphane Boucher understands the situation of the users who parade in front of him. Not so long ago, he too stood in line to provide for his twins. Today, he works at the Relais as a food sorting manager. But he finds it difficult not to be able to help more. “If you don’t have a lot of meat for a week, you have to ration it. You have to be fair to everyone, you can’t give more to one than to the other, that’s where it gets difficult, ”he explains.
Critical situation in Quebec
The situation of the Relais communautaire de Laval is not unique. According to Martin Munger, 62% of organizations say they do not have enough food to meet the meteoric rise in demand. In March, during the last “hunger report”, he noted a 33% increase in demand since 2019, the pre-pandemic reference year. “But what people are saying on the ground is that it hasn’t stopped increasing since March. »
Not only is demand exploding, but donations are decreasing, due in particular to better management of surpluses in the main food chains that supply food aid organizations. But Mr. Munger is categorical, that is not the main issue. The problem is growing poverty, and the fact that very often the only compressible expense in the household budget is food. “There are too many food insecure people. This is, unfortunately, the situation. »
At Moisson Laurentides, which supplies 106 organizations in the region, it has been calculated that demand has increased by 15% over the past year, while food donations have fallen by 18%. And rising food and fuel costs are driving up the organization’s operating costs. The director general, Annie Bélanger, does not hide it, the situation is “still worrying”. The organization speaks of a “pivotal moment” and fears that “the worst could be to come”.
Same story on the side of Moisson Montreal. “We started to feel the increase in demand in the spring and it is only growing. We are really in a wave right now. I’m not the one to make predictions, but I anticipate that 2023 will not necessarily be less busy, ”says the general manager, Chantal Vézina.
“Our donors are very generous, she adds, but despite everything, I am aware that we are not meeting 100% of the needs. She is still delighted to have succeeded in filling 20,000 Christmas baskets which will be distributed on the island soon.
After the “holiday magic”
If December is a time when the demand for food aid is always greater, organizations can generally capitalize on the general public’s outpouring of solidarity. “We don’t expect it to be any different this year,” says Munger.
Earlier this year, the federal government offered $9.6 million to food aid organizations to allow them to restock their shelves by making complementary purchases, a situation never seen before, according to Mr. Munger. But already in June, we started to see holes on the shelves again.
Very encouraging discussions are underway with Quebec for new payments. “We would like to receive help before Christmas to fill the shelves in January,” concludes Mr. Munger. Because in January, the great outpourings of generosity are over. But food insecurity remains. »