More than one million people visited a food bank in Ontario over the past year, according to a report from Feed Ontario.
The organization, a collective of more than 1,200 food banks and hunger relief groups across the province, say food banks were visited more than 7.6 million times from April of 2023 to the end of March 2024 – a 134% increase from 2019-20.
“When we released record-breaking data last year, we though that was the high-water mark. But food bank use has only continued to climb as more Ontarians find themselves struggling to make ends meet,” said Carolyn Stewart, CEO of Feed Ontario. “When will our governments say enough is enough and take meaningful action against food insecurity and poverty?
Feed Ontario reports that 69 per cent of food banks in their network are concerned about not having enough food to adequately provide support to those in need, and 53 per cent worry about having enough funding to adequately meet the demand in their areas.
“Food banks cannot keep up with this unprecedented need they’re seeing,” said Stewart. “Across the province, we are hearing reports of long lines, empty shelves, and a growing concern that some food banks may have to close their doors.”
Many of the challenges outlined by Feed Ontario’s report are true in Parry Sound, according to Rob Wood, general manager of the Harvest Share Food Bank.
The local food bank noticed that their numbers were increasing last fall, and they’ve steadily gone up every month since. In 21 days in August, Harvest Share provided food to 559 individuals, and 30 were first time visitors.
“The community has been excellent in supporting our food drives. They really keep our non-perishable shelves full…but our biggest concern is how we meet the need for fresh and frozen food,” said Wood. “We have lost a lot in the way of meat and produce donations. To try and compensate, we are purchasing meat and produce, but our budget only allows for so much and we’ve had to start reducing the amounts we are giving.”
Anyone interested in donating fresh meat or produce needs to drop it off in-person at 93 James St. and provide a receipt to prove the product is fresh.
For more information visit parrysoundharvestshare.com.
