Recent research suggests Canadian’s demand in food banks are expected to increase by 60 per cent this year.
Second Harvest released a report anticipating food insecurity issues in Canada for the coming year. According to the article, more than 8,000,000 people are expected to be served by food charities per month.
Jane Roy, Co-executive director of the London Food Bank, is worried about the high rising numbers of people seeking for help. “There doesn’t seem to be an end in the people coming for help,” said Roy.
“We are seeing a 30 per cent increase overall last year. Currently over 4,000 families a month are receiving help from the food bank,” said Roy. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the 60 per cent increase is compared to the previous year. That would put our numbers up close to 5,000 families a month. That is definitely scary.”
Canada is facing serious inflation of a 6.9 per cent increase in October last year according to Statistics Canada. With the Bank of Canada raising interest rates lately, the cost of living has been escalating.
“We have been able to help everyone that has asked last year, maybe not to the degree that they need to be helped,” said Roy. “Last year we were able to assist. I worry about the sustainability of it all. We are just a grass roots social agency, I worry about our volunteer resources as well as food resources to continue helping once a month.”
The London Food Bank is looking at expanding their connection to farmers to growing food concerning sustainability of food resources.
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