More Canadians than ever are turning to food banks – and with Christmas fast approaching, food banks in Ottawa are struggling to answer the demand.
The HungerCount report, released earlier this month by Food Banks Canada, revealed that food bank usage is up 28 per cent across the country over the past two years, the largest spike on record.
The report says an alarming 38 per cent of food bank users are youth under the age of 18.
Kerry Kaiser, co-ordinator of the Centretown Emergency Food Centre, says the report is not surprising.
“Our numbers have consistently increased over the past three years,” says Kaiser, who adds there has also been an increase in the number of families using the centre, located at 507 Bank St.
Kaiser says the cost of feeding more people each year is always a concern for the centre.
“We have the people to implement the programs, we have the clients coming in,” says Kaiser. “It’s having the money to sustain those programs down the road that worries me.”
Peter Tilley, executive director of the Ottawa Food Bank, says while Ottawa was not hit as hard as some other Canadian cities, the food bank still has seen a significant increase. About 13 to 16 per cent more people turned to the Ottawa Food Bank between January and March this year than they did in 2009.
Kaiser is expecting an upsurge in food bank visits during the coming holiday season.
“I think with the way that hydro rates have increased, we are going to see a completely new client base in December than we are used to,” says Kaiser. “And I think it is going to be people who have never had to ask for help before.”
For first-time users, taking the step to turn to a food bank can be difficult.
This is something Esther Post, a contract instructor at Carleton University, knows first-hand. She has a PhD and has been a post-secondary teacher for eight years, but she has had to use food banks three times in the past year.
“I cried the first time that I went,” says Post. “It felt really demoralizing and really humiliating. But I (later) realized that I did not have any reason to be humiliated.”
Post says she believes there is a misconception that food bank users are all homeless or have problems with addictions. Many of the people she saw at the food bank had jobs, but simply did not have enough money to pay their bills and afford food.
Tilley says he hopes to remove this stigma around using food banks in the future: “We hope that more and more people will realize that there is no shame in going to a food bank.”
“We are here to help. Food is a basic necessity, and there is nothing wrong with asking for help,” says Tilley.
According to Tilley, the food bank always sees a great influx of donor support during the holidays. However, he says the biggest challenge comes once Christmas is over.
“We have to get the message out that hunger isn’t seasonal,” says Tilley. “In January and February some people forget, but those are some of the coldest and some of our busiest months.”
Kaiser is counting on the generosity of people in Ottawa to help support food banks over the next few months. She insists when it comes to donations this holiday season, every little bit helps.
“If somebody has five dollars to spare, they would not believe how much of a difference that makes,” says Kaiser.