Food Banks face higher costs, lower donations as demand rises

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region has not been able to purchase the same volume or quality of food due to higher food prices, but the demand for usage has only been increasing.

This comes as a new report from Feed Ontario, formally the Ontario Association of Food Banks, said this is the sixth consecutive year that food bank use has increased across the province.

“At the grocery store bins, we are definitely down," said Kim Wilhelm, the interim CEO of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

The higher prices mean the food bank has to be more selective in their purchases.

“We needed to make a significant purchase of canned fruit, and the only canned fruit that we could get at the time was canned pineapple,” said Wilhelm.

Connie Becker has been volunteering to organize food at House of Friendship for nearly 20 years but has also been on the receiving side.

“Everyone needs help. That's just the way things are nowadays. There's no shame in it, some people think there is, but I think there's no shame in it,” said Becker.

Fellow volunteer Dean Schmidt said he also takes a food hamper home from time to time.

“With the way things are right now, it’s hard to be able to put food on the table,” said Schmidt.

Not only is food bank use on the rise, but the statistics of who is using food banks have also been shifting.

“When we talk about need and poverty, they are not always visible. We are seeing working families attend our food programs,” said Dauda Raji, community development manager at House of Friendship.

According to feed Ontario, which surveyed food bank users between April 2021 and March 2022, roughly 46 per cent said they needed assistance because of the cost of food.

Feed Ontario said the government needs to do more.

“The social safety net has been dismantled over time, and during this time of uncertainty, food banks are having to fill the gaps left by poor public policy decisions,” said Carolyn Stewart, Feed Ontario executive director.