Canada’s reliance on food banks has soared and this region is no different.
This week, Food Banks Canada reported there were more than two million recorded visits to the nation’s food banks in March, nearly double the monthly visits compared to March 2019 and six per cent above last year’s record-breaking figure.
The Trenton Share and Care Food Bank also continues to break grim records.
Manager Jen Koornneef says they have experienced a 25 per cent increase in household visits over last year in both August and September.
In September they served 569 households, the highest number of monthly visits in their almost 40-year history.
In September 2023 they served 452 households.
Koornnheef says that is an increase of more than 100 families relying on the food bank’s services to put meals on their tables and having to make difficult decisions like whether rent gets paid or groceries and essentials are purchased.
She adds that while food banks are absolutely necessary and increasingly relied upon by so many people, they are not a solution to the food insecurity experienced by Canadians and that policy changes are needed to get to the root causes of hunger along with a commitment from every level of government to poverty reduction strategies.
