As the holiday season gets under way, it may not always be a joyful one for individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. And while food banks like Pelham Cares are doing their best to help, the growing numbers turning to them for help is straining what limited resources they have.
According to Food Banks Canada’s annual Hunger Count, Canadians made more than two million visits to a food bank – 2,059,636 to be exact – to feed themselves and their loved ones as of March 2024. Of that number, 681,450 involved children. The total number of visits represents a six per cent increase over 2023 and a whopping 90 per cent increase since 2019.
“This unthinkable rate of growth is not something food banks, nor people in Canada, can sustain,” said Kirstin Beardsley, Food Banks Canada’s chief executive officer. “The damage is done, and people need immediate supports to help them recover.”
Locally, Gayle Sears, Executive Director of Pelham Cares, said numbers coming through the doors at the organization’s offices on Hwy. 20 have also been on the rise and demand is up for all of the services the agency offers, including back-to-school backpacks, rides to medical appointments, its subsidy for youth sports and recreational activities, and referrals to other social service agencies in Niagara who may not have a location in Pelham.
“Unfortunately, our numbers are larger than the national average,” she said. “Pelham Cares has seen a 30 per cent increase in people (the organization) fed over last year.”
And it’s not only people without a job or single parents who are struggling. In all, 18 per cent of visits to a food bank nationally were made by working people and 23 per cent were two-parent families.
In Pelham, Sears said numbers are up in all categories, including a slight increase in children.
She said that it’s higher costs for everything from food to utilities that are a primary driver that is bringing more people to the food bank for help.
“People are having such a hard time keeping up with inflation and coping with the high fixed costs of housing, gas, etc.,” Sears said. “Once all the financial commitments have been paid, there is often not much if any left over for food.”
The stories have been heartbreaking, she added.
“Lately, we are hearing of two income families unable to manage as one has lost their job or have had paid hours cut and they cannot afford their rent or mortgage commitments,” she said. “It has particularly hit hard for those who have had to renew mortgages with very high interest rates. They have had to come to Pelham Cares in order to adequately feed their family.”
As Sears indicated, housing and food costs have risen sharply over the past few years while wage growth has failed to keep up. In October, Canada’s inflation rate rose to 2 per cent overall year-over-year while food prices continued to outpace the overall inflation rate, rising 2.7 per cent. The most recent wage growth stats for Canada from August 2024 pegged wage growth at 4.6 per cent year-over-year while Telus Health, in its annual Salary Projection Survey, is forecasting a 3.45 per cent increase in average base salaries next year.
While those inflation numbers are back to more traditional levels, allowing for reductions in the Bank of Canada’s interest rate dropping to 3.75 per cent, down from a high of 5 per cent back in July, the rate is still far above the 0.5 per cent seen in March 2022.
Beardsley said that governments need to take a two-pronged approach to tackling the issue of food insecurity.
“We need governments to rapidly introduce income policies that will provide much-needed relief for the millions of people struggling right now,” she said, adding that low-income workers, single adults, renters and communities in the North all need better supports. That means what she called repairing Canada’s social safety net “that lies in tatters after decades of neglect.”
Pelham Cares, meanwhile, will be hosting a food drive at the Meridian Community Centre from Dec. 6-8. Residents are being encouraged to drop off donations of non-perishable food items or cash.
Pelham Cares will also be providing Christmas hampers to clients who need one. The hampers include either a turkey or ham plus trimmings such as vegetables for Christmas dinner. Hampers will also include age-appropriate gifts for children and youth ages 18 and under. Tags with gift ideas can be found on the Christmas tree set up in the lobby of the MCC.
“We will definitely see more families sign up for Christmas hampers this year,” said Gayle Sears.
Pelham firefighters from Station 1 in Fonthill will once again host their annual Christmas Toy Drive from Dec. 2-10. Donations of new, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at the station, located at 177 Hwy. 20, during regular business hours or evenings from 6-8 p.m. on weekdays. Gifts can also be dropped off on weekends from noon-4 p.m. Hampers are conveniently placed at various locations, including CIBC, Meridian Credit Union, Town Hall, Lincoln Pelham Public Library Fonthill branch, and the MCC.
More information about Pelham Cares and its services can be found at pelhamcares.org.
