{"id":518757,"date":"2022-11-30T19:32:45","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/i-run-a-food-bank-weve-seen-a-60-per-cent-increase-in-demand\/"},"modified":"2022-11-30T19:32:45","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:32:45","slug":"i-run-a-food-bank-weve-seen-a-60-per-cent-increase-in-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-run-a-food-bank-weve-seen-a-60-per-cent-increase-in-demand\/","title":{"rendered":"#I run a food bank. We\u2019ve seen a 60 per cent increase in demand."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c46be7939a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3c46be7939a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-run-a-food-bank-weve-seen-a-60-per-cent-increase-in-demand\/#%E2%80%9CI_run_a_food_bank_Weve_seen_a_60_per_cent_increase_in_demand%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;I run a food bank. We\u2019ve seen a 60 per cent increase in demand.&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CI_run_a_food_bank_Weve_seen_a_60_per_cent_increase_in_demand%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;I run a food bank. We\u2019ve seen a 60 per cent increase in demand.&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            \u201cClients are telling us they&#8217;re considering medically assisted death or suicide because they can\u2019t live in grinding poverty anymore.\u201d\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n                                                                        I\u2019ve been working at the Mississauga Food Bank for 13 years. I started as the director of marketing and fund development, and I\u2019m now coming up on five years as CEO. Our work has never been more urgent than it is right now. We\u2019ve seen a 60 per cent increase in demand since the pandemic began. In the past, we were growing proactively, expanding our services to serve more people and reaching out to those living in poverty who didn\u2019t know a food bank was available to support them. That\u2019s very different from how we\u2019ve had to adjust recently.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the pandemic, the need for food banks steadily increased. We used to serve about 19,000 people per year\u2014now it\u2019s more than 30,000. In October, we had the highest demand on record with more than 11,000 visitors to one of the food banks in our network.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past 12 months, as food prices rose, every month has been a record-breaking one. On average, we\u2019ve seen a 30 per cent increase in new food bank users during the pandemic. Everyday people access our services: about 75 per cent of people who use the food bank have a source of income, whether that\u2019s through employment, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> assistance or disability benefits. And this is the first time we\u2019ve had a significant number of people tell us that it\u2019s the cost of food, specifically, that has put them over the edge. A parent of five children who comes to our food bank told us that even when they do have money to shop for their own groceries, they end up leaving half the cart behind because things are too expensive. The weight of bills combined with rising grocery prices is crushing. Like many people living in poverty, this family is stuck in a loop: either they earn enough money to disqualify them for any support when they still need it, or they don\u2019t make enough to cover basic expenses.<\/p>\n<p>In the past, for folks living in poverty, there was still enough room to cut costs in certain places, shuffle things around, and maybe make ends meet. But now that things cost so much more than they used to, people don\u2019t have that little bit to borrow from one pocket to put into another. On average, grocery prices have increased by around 12 per cent\u2014the biggest surge since the early \u201980s\u2014and staples have become even more expensive. This year alone, the price of fresh fruit and meat has gone up about 10 per cent. People have no choice but to turn to food banks.<\/p>\n<p>Rising costs also make it harder for us to buy food. We have deals with wholesalers and vendors, but they\u2019re not immune to inflation. We restrict our purchases to high-demand staple items and make substitutions where necessary. For example, we buy turkeys for the holiday season each year\u2014we\u2019re buying the same number of turkeys this year, but spending 20 per cent more than we usually would. We always need milk, and it\u2019s already had two price increases this year. Struggling under the weight of supply-chain issues, vendors are saving their supply to fulfill their contracts at grocery stores, decreasing what\u2019s available to sell to food banks.<\/p>\n<p>Many people don\u2019t know that food banks aren\u2019t entirely government funded. Government grants only account for one to two per cent of our funding: for example, we receive an annual grant of $100,000 from the regional government of Peel. While that might seem like a lot, it only covers 1.6 per cent of our annual operating cost of $6.1 million. During the pandemic, we\u2019ve received more government funding to help us respond to a growing demand for food. We received a grant of $500,000 from the region of Peel last year and we\u2019ll receive that grant again next year. For the most part, however, we rely on donations and fundraising to cover costs. For the fiscal year ending in May, we\u2019ll receive 50 per cent of our funding from individual donations, 20 per cent from companies, 10 per cent from community fundraising events and initiatives, 8 per cent from foundations, and the remaining 12 per cent from elsewhere, including government grants.<\/p>\n<p>The community keeps us afloat, but that support isn\u2019t always where we need it to be. We\u2019ve seen food donations decline over the last few years in addition to an increased demand for food. Prior to the pandemic, we were spending $250,000 a year on food, and now we\u2019re spending up to $1.1 million. We were fortunate to receive incredible donations from the community early in the pandemic. That continues to subsidize our current costs, but we\u2019re not getting enough donations to cover the demand for food right now.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the government has weakened our social safety net to a disheartening degree. At the provincial level, Ontario Works (our welfare system) and the Ontario Disability Support Program are woefully underfunded. We\u2019re at the point where clients on these programs are telling us they\u2019re considering medically assisted death or suicide because they can\u2019t live in grinding poverty anymore. A client in our Food Bank 2 Home delivery program told one of our staff that they\u2019re considering suicide because they\u2019re so tired of suffering through poverty. Another client asked if we knew how to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ly for MAID for the same reasons. We can\u2019t underestimate the effect that poverty has on someone\u2019s mental health. Our clients live with constant worry, and cut corners on needed items like medication, fresh food, or warm clothes\u2014constantly living under that stress takes its toll mentally, emotionally and physically.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know how to ring the alarm bell any louder. When people start telling us they\u2019re going to end their life because they can\u2019t live in poverty anymore, it\u2019s clear that we\u2019ve failed them.<\/p>\n<p>Charities like ours try to reach people who are falling through the cracks. But charities rely on the generosity of others, and if even they\u2019re feeling pinched, people will go hungry. We\u2019re hopeful that our holiday campaign will raise $1.7 million and 450,000 pounds of food, and we\u2019re grateful for the support of Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie in that campaign. But even if we reach that goal, that only keeps us going until Easter, when we\u2019ll need more money and more food.<\/p>\n<p>So far, the government\u2019s approach to fighting inflation has been to keep businesses afloat, because the idea is that money will trickle down and support workers. And that\u2019s just not working. We need to offset inflation in ways that don\u2019t hurt the people we\u2019re trying to help.<\/p>\n<p>It takes all of us to feed our hungry neighbours, and this year is no different. But beyond supporting your local food bank, it\u2019s going to take all of us to advocate for policies that will reduce poverty so that one day, we won\u2019t need food banks anymore.<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 As Told To Liza Agrba<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/society\/food-bank-pandemic-need\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I run a food bank. We\u2019ve seen a 60 per cent increase in demand.&#8221; \u201cClients are telling us they&#8217;re considering medically assisted death or suicide because they can\u2019t live in grinding poverty anymore.\u201d I\u2019ve been working at the Mississauga Food Bank for 13 years. I started as the director of marketing and fund development, and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":518758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Volunteers-Emergency-Food-Bank-2022323-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[136469,2169],"class_list":["post-518757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-food-bank","tag-pandemic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}