Sarah Yonge knows the feeling of being hungry all too well.
Once a ward with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, then a foster child who left home at 18, Yonge has faced more than her share of challenges.
“I guess you would think I’m a walking poster for food banks,” she said. “I fit the stereotypical image. But you’d be surprised.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the number of people relying on food banks has increased.
Once thought of as a last-resort service for the homeless, dispossessed or distressed youth, food banks are seeing more blue-collar families and singles as clients.
The 2019 HungerCount report indicated almost 1.1 million people visited one of Canada’s 4,700 food banks before the pandemic.
“I think it’s people running out of resources, and you know, getting lower on resources,” said Joel Gelwarg, supervisor for Regeneration Outreach Community Food Bank in Brampton.
“It’s scary because people are hungry,” he said.
Gelwarg said governments were ill-prepared for the pandemic. He knew businesses were going to be closed for months, some with coolers filled with food waiting to be distributed to those in need.
“The government saw that these things weren’t going to be dispersed and waited. At that point, a lot of it was unusable,” he said.
The rise in food bank usage has been affecting those not only in rural areas but also in suburbia.
Christina Armstrong, manager of the Wasaga Beach Ministerial Food Bank, said even in areas such as Wasaga Beach — where residents are mostly retirees and young families looking to escape the high costs of the city — have been hit hard.
“We’ve seen a lot of larger families that have now been down there,” Armstrong said.
“Food is going up; rent is going up; hydro is going up,” she said. “Gas, everything, everything increases.”
Armstrong said people living on Ontario Disability Support Program benefits and families on Ontario Works are visiting food banks, along with those who are working but can’t seem to make enough.
A man waiting outside of the Knights Table Food Bank in Brampton. More Canadians are turning to food banks for help. Photo credit: Trishelle Dotson
“We have a lot of a lot of people that are working hard, but the money just doesn’t stretch,” she said.
Armstrong said the food bank relies solely on donations and the community for help. She urged the Ontario government to step in and help more with outreach and making grants more accessible.
Many people are in the position of choosing either housing or food. With the cost of living rising and wages stagnant, increasing numbers of people know the anxiety that being vulnerable brings.
“I knew hard times before the pandemic, but this, this is another level of difficulty,” Yonge said, fighting back tears.
“This is another level of difficulty. Mothers need diapers and formula,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking.”