Hamilton food bank gets $625K emergency grant as donations drop rapidly

Food banks in Hamilton, Ont., will get an emergency grant of $625,000 from the city to provide immediate support in the midst of a significant decrease in donations.

City council finalized the cash Wednesday after a delegation from the Emergency Food Strategic Planning Committee, representing 16 hunger-relief programs, made an ask for support in September.

A delegate from Hamilton Food Share said food purchasing has grown by 624 per cent over the last four years moving from $193,326 in 2019 to $1.4 million in 2023.

“We were bringing in just over 300,000 pounds of food prior to the pandemic as a result of community food drives, and last year that number was only 83,000,” Food Share’s Karen Randell explained to councillors during an emergency and community services committee last month.

Stoney Creek Coun. Brad Clark submitted that increases in food costs, interest rates, loans and mortgages have resulted in a drop in disposable income and escalating need at food banks.

“That drop in disposable income has translated into a serious drop in donations to food banks at a time when in Ontario, food banks are experiencing a 70 per cent increase in people coming,” Clark said.

Food Share has also submitted a request for annual funding, around $1.25 million for 2024, with half earmarked for food purchasing and the other covering staffing and infrastructure expenses.

Councillors are expected to debate the ask during 2024 budget talks in the new year.

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