Rising food prices challenge food banks
VICTORIA, BC—The Mustard Seed Food Bank in Victoria has taken out a $300,000 mortgage to ensure it can meet its expenses this fall.
"There are many, many factors affecting food banks," says director Brent Palmer, "such as rising food prices and global economic uncertainty."
Palmer expects that donations during the holiday season, when the Mustard Seed typically receives 60 per cent of its monetary donations, will allow it to pay the money back.
Many food banks across Canada have found 2011 a difficult year. The Ottawa Food Bank issued a rare public appeal this fall, after finding its shelves bare and donations down at the beginning of its Thanksgiving food drive. The community responded, flooding Ottawa grocery stores with food donations.
The fall food drive at the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto collected about 75 per cent of its target for food and monetary donations.
Canadian food banks provide food for 851,000 people in a typical month in 2011, according to Food Banks Canada's new report "Counting Hunger 2011." Although that number is down slightly from last year's record high, food banks are still reporting increased demand. Over half (53 per cent) of the food banks in Food Banks Canada's national survey and 73 per cent of The Salvation Army's food programs reported increased client demand.
"It is shocking that hundreds of thousands of Canadians need help from food banks each month to make ends meet," says Katharine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada. "The level of food bank use over the past three years has grown at an alarming rate and food banks are stretched to the limit."
More than one in three (38 per cent) of those helped by food banks are children.
Andrew Burditt of The Salvation Army notes, "As food gets more expensive, it's often the healthiest kinds of food that are out of reach."
Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index reports that food bought from stores is five per cent more expensive than 2010. Some of the highest increases are in healthy food, such as fresh vegetables, which are 13 per cent more expensive than last year. Other staples have increased in price from last year, such as bread (12 per cent), potatoes (24 per cent) and coffee (15 per cent).
For those on fixed incomes, the rising cost of food may put healthy food out of reach, or leave them hungry.
"In the past few months, we've noticed an increase in new people signing up seeking assistance from the Mustard Seed," says Palmer. "We've noticed a spike in seniors. The people that are dependent on stock market incomes that used to donate now have to access the services themselves."
Some Salvation Army food programs are also reporting that former donors are now using the food banks and meal programs themselves.
The Salvation Army finds hopeful trends among its 160 food programs. Donations have increased for one-third of the food programs in 2011. The volunteer base is strong, with 85 per cent of the programs reporting volunteering rates have either increased or remained the same over the past year.
"Canadians are responding to the need that exists," says Burditt. "Canadians have proven themselves to be inherently generous and we've been blessed with a fairly good number of volunteers that have wanted to help."
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