Barrie area food bank reliance surges as new Ontario report reveals usage increase
Food banks in Barrie and the surrounding area report increasing usage numbers, as a new report indicates Ontario's food bank numbers are rising.
The new provincial report from Feed Ontario revealed over 587,000 adults and children accessed a food bank between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, representing a 15 per cent increase.
The Barrie Food Bank's executive director said those statistics align with their own.
"More working families and seniors are coming to the food bank," said Sharon Palmer. "So people who are working minimum wage jobs, precarious work, gig economy, if there's any kind of interruption to their wages, then they don't have the safety net."
The report noted nearly 46 per cent of food bank users pointed to the surging cost of food as their reason for utilizing the service, while over 13 per cent cited expensive housing, and nearly 10 per cent said low wages or not enough working hours were factors.
"What I found really interesting was just the analysis of how the social policies have impacted foodbank usage over the years," added Palmer. "People on ODSP, Ontario Works, minimum wage earners, it's alarming."
At the Innisfil Food Bank, numbers have gone up by 13 per cent over the last two months.
"We're definitely seeing a lot more newer first-time visitors," said Donna VanBodegom, food bank coordinator. "Twenty-six new families came alone in the last month, which is not typical and was actually a bit shocking."
At the Barrie Native Friendship Centre, Tracey Fox is trying to manage the dramatic increase in its food bank usage. As the Hunger to Hope coordinator, she said demand has increased at an unsustainable rate.
"Our direct service numbers have gone up 70 per cent," Fox said. "If I don't get any donations in, I would say in the next couple weeks, my shelves would be pretty much depleted."
Staff at area food banks added that hygiene products and winter clothing are also desperately needed in addition to food donations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.