FOOD BANK USE IN WATERLOO REGION JUMPS 25 PER CENT

'WE HAVE NEVER SEEN NUMBERS RISE THIS QUICKLY OR DRASTICALLY BEFORE,' FOOD BANK HEAD SAYS

In July, a case of 24 heads of romaine lettuce cost $38.95.

Today the cost of that same case of lettuce has now shot up to $159.75, more than four times what it cost in the summer.

These skyrocketing prices have led to a big jump in the numbers of people turning to food banks, says the interim CEO of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, both here and around the country.

"The cost of living has never been higher, and as a result our neighbours are struggling," Kim Wilhelm said Wednesday in an interview.

She said there has been a 25-per-cent increase in the number of people accessing food from the organization in Waterloo Region in 2022, compared to the same period last year.

And of those increased numbers, two-thirds have never before gone to a food bank.

"We have never seen numbers rise this quickly or drastically before," Wilhelm said.

It's a multipronged issue, she said.

Food, rent and gas costs have all risen quickly, so people don't have enough money for the basics of life.

And fewer people are donating food because they're stretched to cover their own groceries.

Meanwhile, the food

bank, which likes to buy fresh produce to give away, is also constrained by rapidly rising prices caused by anything from disruption in the supply chain, shortages of food packaging, and poor crops due to drought.

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region doesn't distribute food directly, but channels food to a network of about 100 local community programs, including soup kitchens, shelters, food hamper programs, community centres and the Nutrition for Learning program, which brings healthy food to hungry children in schools.

Waterloo Region's situation is being echoed across the country. Food Banks Canada reports 1.4 million visits to food banks in March, a 15-per-cent increase compared with March 2021, and a 35-percent increase compared with March 2019, before the pandemic.

One-third of those being fed by food banks are children.

In New Brunswick, 17

per cent more people turned to food banks this year. In Nova Scotia, 14 per cent more people.

In Guelph, there has been a 47-per-cent increase in the number of people using the food bank there. From February to June, 1,892 people got food there, up from 1,286 in the same period in 2021, officials said.

The Guelph Food Bank is on track to give out two million pounds of food by the end of this year if trends continue, said administrator Pauline Cripps. Usually it distributes around 1.3 million pounds.

People can help by donating to the food bank bins in supermarkets and elsewhere. In addition to the usual dried pasta, cans of beans and peanut butter, consider donating small packaged snacks that can be slipped into a backpack for schoolchildren, said Wilhelm.

And the food bank needs cash donations too. Donate on its website at thefoodbank.ca.