Food banks across the Maritimes are experiencing an increased use of the service amid crippling inflation and the high cost of living and stagnant wages.
Food Banks Canada is reporting a national increase of 15 per cent between March 2021 and March 2022. The Food Depot Alimentaire executive director Stephane Sirois said this year has been a challenge and likely will continue to be one into next year.
“We can’t stretch every dollar like we used to,” he said. “We have …. compared to last year, in the last six months, we had to spend over 10 times more money to buy roughly the same amount of food.”
In the report from Food Banks Canada, visits to the food bank in New Brunswick rose 17 per cent between March 2021 and March 2022, which Sirois said is now closer to 30 per cent
In Nova Scotia, the visits increased by 14 per cent. Meanwhile, in Prince Edward Island, it rose by two per cent.
Seniors accessing food banks increased to 8.9 per cent versus 6.8 per cent before the pandemic.
According to the report, the top three reasons people accessed a food bank this year were due to food costs, low provincial social assistance rates, and housing costs.
It’s something Feed Nova Scotia said is really at the root of food insecurity.
“We’re looking at about 30,000 visits in that month of March alone,” Karen Theriault said.
Theriault is with Feed Nova Scotia and said the fall and winter season ahead is likely to be one of the most challenging the organization has seen.
“To complement those hunger count numbers, the snapshot in March, shows us that so far this year, for the whole of calendar 2022, we’re trending about 23 per cent ahead of the same time period for 2021,” she said.
“Any way you look at it, those numbers should rattle us all. This is not a food bank crisis, this is a Nova Scotia crisis, this is a national crisis, and we all need to sit up and pay attention to those numbers and realize it is by choice, that we have allowed poverty and food insecurity to continue in our communities and it’s time that we stop.”
In the report, there were several recommendations that called for more than just support to food banks but sweeping social assistance reform, housing reform, among others.
Alex Boyd with Green Village in Fredericton said it, too, feels the increased demand acutely. He said the organization is running at a deficit, more significant than in previous years.
“It’s double whammy. When you have 40 per cent increase in demand, but also a pretty extensive jump in expenses,” he said.
He said the food pricing they were able to secure in the past is no longer available.
Despite the challenging times, those running food banks and organizations who support them want people to know that help is available.
“We are here to help people who don’t have enough food and get by and if that’s the position you find yourself in please reach out to us,” Boyd said.
People wishing to access Feed Nova Scotia can visit this website.
Greener Village plans to have several fundraisers leading into the winter and holiday season.
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