The Emergency Food Centre located at Centretown United Church is recording a surging demand and an increase in number of new visits, which appears to be connected with the transit strike and the economic downturn.
“The numbers are increasing and that worries me,” says Kerry Kaiser, Centertown Emergency Food Centre co-ordinator.
March was a busy month for the center, as it recorded its highest numbers of visits in two years. The monthly report indicates a total of 772 visits, representing a 14-per-cent increase from last year.
But Kaiser says it is too early to hold the economic recession responsible for the increase.
“We still need a few more months to really see if the increase persists,” Kaiser says. But the effects of the city bus strike, she says, certainly have an impact on their statistics.
Many people lost their jobs during the strike, says Carolyn Hunter, Ottawa Food Bank agency relations manager.
“People couldn’t get around,” she says. Some people had to find new jobs, she explains, often resulting in a decrease of their working hours and salaries.
The CEFC report also indicates a 22-per-cent increase of newcomers compared to the same period last year. Of this increase, Kaiser said, most were single males.
The organization also observed a decrease in food donations since January.
“The decrease is staggering,” Kaiser says, “but the OC Transpo strike is mostly responsible.” She said the downtown traffic did not encourage people to stop by the centre to donate food. But as for the recession, Kaiser repeats it is still too early to draw any links here either.
Kaiser says that last month’s donations have fortunately increased, which helped the centre respond to the greater food demand. But this was not the case for the Ottawa Innercity Ministries, which provides foods and social support for the poor in Ottawa. The drop-in centre experienced a 30 per cent drop in revenues from churches and private donations this year.
“We are receiving less money, but are experiencing more need,” says Ken MacLaren, OIM executive director. The Sadaga Food Bank, which mainly provides food to immigrants and refugees, also recorded a 15-per-cent increase in visits in March. But luckily, explains Sadaga Food Bank manager Yassin Said, last month’s food donations were particularly high.
“Our rice and oil campaign is very successful,” he says, “and exceeds its original goal of 100 bags and 100 bottles respectively.”
In January 2009, Statistics Canada showed that national food prices increased overall by 7.2 per cent in 2008 and shelter costs increased by 3.5 per cent.
“Bills keep coming and are getting higher,” says Hunter, explaining the increases have devastating effects on low income families.
Kaiser says the price increase of these basic needs worsen the effects of the recession, and the higher the numbers of people who lose their jobs, the harder it will be for the CEFC to respond to the food’s demand.
McLauren says the OIM and many social establishments will experience difficult times in the summer. He said people who are deeply affected by the economic crisis in Toronto and in the Atlantic provinces will migrate to Ottawa, mainly because the city offers many services that are available within walking distance.