Canadian food banks strained during holidays this year amid rising demand
Global News
Food bank organizations across the country have reported an increase in users this year.
Increasing demand for food assistance this year, coupled with a regular spike in users during the holiday season, has strained Canadian food banks this month, the directors of multiple Canadian food bank associations say.
“Christmas is always a busy time for our food banks but particularly when you add Christmas… plus the regular need throughout the month of December has been increased, it just puts even more pressure on the food banks,” said Shawna Bissell, executive director of Food Banks Alberta, a network of over 100 local organizations in the province.
Organizations across the country have reported an increase in users this year. National network Food Banks Canada counted 1,935,911 visits to food banks in March, the latest data available, a 32.1 per cent increase from March 2022 and a 78.5 per cent jump from March 2019.
In Ontario, visits surged 36 per cent, to 5,888,685, between April 2022 and March 2023 compared to the previous year, according to a November release from Feed Ontario.
Bissell said demand is so high in her network that it’s unable to build up food reserves. “As soon as that food is coming it’s being distributed out to people in need,” she said in an interview. “Every year we seem to be feeding more and more people.”
On the other side of the country, Food Banks of Quebec executive director Martin Munger said his organization this year distributed twice the number of aid packages it handed out in 2019. It gave out tens of thousands of food baskets in the run-up to Christmas, alone, he said. Now, stocks are low.
Demand, he said, has “been high all year long, and it’s also been higher during the holiday season than in previous years.”
Dan Huang-Taylor, executive director of Food Banks BC, said 2023 has seen the highest level of demand for food banks since they started operating in British Columbia in the early 1980s.
Toronto Police say five people have been injured and four of them have been arrested after a crash in Scarborough involving a stolen vehicle.
Parents in the Halifax area are voicing concerns as children have been finding drug paraphernalia in their neighbourhoods. In one case, a child was pricked by a discarded needle.
Voters in Nova Scotia are heading to the polls today as the province holds an election to determine if Tim Houston and the Progressive Conservatives will remain in power.
On Monday, Trump vowed to slap a 25 per cent tariff on all products coming from Canada and Mexico on his first day back in office.
'A cherished member of the theatre community, his presence brought joy, heart and depth to every role, and his artistic contributions — and big hugs — will be deeply missed'
An Ontario man was restrained with duct tape last week after allegedly trying to open the door of a plane mid-flight, called himself the “captain" and injuring a flight attendant.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday called on provinces to 'step up' and get on board with the Liberals' plan to grant a tax holiday on some items for two months.
As authorities investigate the deaths of six tourists in Laos, here's what Canadians need to know about recognizing and preventing methanol poisoning while travelling.
Danielle Smith said the Alberta government is looking for ways to encourage pipeline companies to boost capacity and increase Alberta's oil and gas export volumes to the U.S.
'She thinks she's playing Robin Hood, and in actuality, she's putting these fishermen in a worse-off situation than they currently are,' one licence-holder said.
The Women and Children’s Shelter of Barrie in Ontario say they expect to turn away 650 women and children this year for service. It's a problem seen across Canada.