Food banks grapple with growing demand and inflation ahead of Thanksgiving – National

Simon Malsi hopes to earn a few extra hours of work on Thanksgiving Day to help him afford to put a celebratory meal on the table.

The personal support worker said he is trying to get more shifts to make ends meet as his family struggles to cope with the soaring cost of living in northern Toronto.

Even with his wife’s part-time salary, Malsi said rent, gas and groceries had become so expensive that it was difficult to feed his two-year-old son and five-year-old daughter well.

There are plenty of other families in the same position this holiday season, food bank workers say, as staggering rates of inflation increase demand for their services while diminishing the purchasing power of their holiday dollars. donations.

Malsi showed up at the North York Harvest Food Bank on Tuesday with a checkered plastic bag as volunteers helped him choose items from the shelves.

For a family of four, a standard transport might include four packets of instant dry noodles, a jar of peanut butter, two cans of tuna, two bags of lentils, two packets of spaghetti, a carton of milk, a can of yogurt , a few fresh vegetables and some other staples.

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The supplies are supposed to last three days, but many families extend them longer.

Malsi said he hoped the extra food would leave enough room in his budget to buy a grilled chicken for Thanksgiving dinner.

“It’s great that we have (this resource). You can help people in need like me,” Malsi said. « We need other sources. »

The North York Harvest Food Bank is among a number of organizations across the country that have reported a steady influx of new users since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, 3,500 families visited the network for the first time, said Henry Chiu, director of development and marketing. He expects that number to continue to rise amid growing concern over a looming recession.

So far, the community has stepped up its generosity to meet the increased needs, Chiu said.

The food bank relies primarily on financial donations to support its « choice » model, which, similar to a grocery store, allows users to choose their own food from a variety of available options.

This bulk purchasing power has cushioned the blow of rising food prices, Chiu said, while allowing customers to tailor their selections to their dietary needs and restrictions.

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Still, he said, the organization is feeling the crunch in many aspects of its operation, including increased spending on refueling its truck fleet.

The North York Harvest Food Bank tends to see a spike in donations during the holidays, Chiu noted, and he’s worried about a potential dip at the end of the donation season, particularly if rising costs reduce donor checkbooks.

As financial strains mount, he said, Canada must look beyond short-term solutions to address systemic causes of food insecurity, such as lack of access to affordable housing.

« A food bank is a necessary solution but only a band-aid, » Chiu said. « We need a stronger social support network. »

Meanwhile, some food banks say their grocery bills have skyrocketed as they scramble to feed more people with fundraising funds that aren’t going as far as they used to.

In 2019, the Calgary Food Bank’s budget for food purchases was $1.7 million, said communications coordinator Betty Jo Kaiser.

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The organization previously projected it would spend $2.4 million on emergency food baskets in 2022, she said. Now, that estimate has nearly doubled to around $4.5 million.

“We are feeding thousands of people a week right now…. That’s what we work on day in and day out,” Kaiser said. « Imagining anything worse down the line is not possible for me at the moment because the immediate demand is so massive. »

The Allan Gardens Food Bank in downtown Toronto is also feeling the dual pressures of increased demand and inflated food costs, said President Meryl Wharton.

Still, the group hopes a last-minute giveaway will allow them to do something special for the 900 customers they expect this week.

Before COVID-19, the food bank served whole turkey or chicken for Thanksgiving, Wharton said. Now they are waiting to see if a donation will arrive in time to add poultry to the menu, he said.

At the very least, he said, the food bank will do what it can to make sure no one misses a holiday meal.

“We always make sure customers get something,” Wharton said.