A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Over the past couple of decades, I’ve been asked a number of times by various news organizations I have worked for in the Niagara region to do a story on what is happening at our local food banks.

At the Food Bank. Report says growing numbers of Canadian children rely on food banks for basic nourishment needs. What’s going on in this country?

Each and every time, the story has been pretty much the same. Increasing numbers of people from all walks of life are becoming dependent on these charitable services to put food on their tables. They include seniors struggling to get by on fixed pensions, university and college students financially underwater due to soaring tuition and other school-related costs, single parents unable to find a jobs with a livable enough wage to provide for their children, and blue and white collar workers who have seen their jobs outsourced or downsized.

“You won’t believe who is coming for help these days,” I have had food bank volunteers tell me as they work to obtain enough donated food to meet the growing need.

The media release below, circulated this past Tuesday, November 5^th by the not-for-profit organization Food Banks Canada, highlights a growing reliance on food banks that we should all find disturbing in a Canada we like to think of as one of the most prosperous countries to live and support a home and family in the world.

This latest report from Food Banks Canada begs the question – Why, in a country so rich with resources of almost every kind, are growing numbers of our fellow citizens relying on food banks for the basic nourishment we need to survive?

Forget about all the attention being paid to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and the three suspended senators in Ottawa. Perhaps we should be paying more time on  issues like this and engaging in a national dialogue on what can be done to build or should I rather say, rebuild an economy that creates decent jobs, affording a more livable income for all of our citizens.

In the meantime, here is the media release.

Food bank use still at record highs

Ottawa, November 5, 2013 – Too many Canadians are struggling just to put food on the table, and food bank use continues to hover at record levels according to HungerCount 2013, a national study released today by Food Banks Canada.

The report highlights that in a typical month, food banks in Canada now provide food to more than three quarters of a million separate individuals – 833,000 people – and nearly 4 in 10 of those helped are children.

“Far too many people are looking into an empty fridge and wondering how they’re going to feed themselves and their kids,” said Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada, which coordinated the national study involving more than 4,000 food programs.

The HungerCount 2013 study found that:

• Each month, 80,000 Canadians are forced to ask for help from a food bank for the first time.
• Nearly 40,000 of those helped each month are seniors with incomes too meagre to afford enough food.
• 1 in 6 households assisted by food banks have employment income, yet still can’t make ends meet.

“The inability to obtain enough food, when it is abundant all around us, is physically and psychologically scarring,” continued Schmidt. “It is simply unacceptable in a nation as prosperous as Canada. We are calling on the federal and provincial governments to make real investments in policies that will reduce the need for food banks.”

The HungerCount 2013 report provides policy recommendations that can make significant progress in reducing the number of people who need help from food banks. Recommendations include:

• Increase access to affordable housing, so that Canadians are not forced to choose between paying rent or buying food.
• Increase investment in education and training for Canadians at risk of failing in the job market, so that people can become self-sufficient through employment.
• Invest in local food solutions in the North, to help Northern Canadians build the capacity to feed themselves.
• Revolutionize social assistance, so people can build self-sufficiency instead of being trapped in poverty.

For a full copy of the HungerCount 2013 report, click here

Go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hungercount/id567779411?ls=1&mt=8, to get the HungerCount app for iPhone and iPad.

About the HungerCount Survey

HungerCount was initiated in 1989, and is the only annual national research study of food banks and other food programs in Canada. Since 1997, data for the study have been collected every March. The information provided by the survey is invaluable, forming the basis of many Food Banks Canada activities throughout the year.

About Food Banks Canada

Food Banks Canada supports a unique network of food-related organizations in every province and territory, which assists more than 800,000 Canadians each month. Together our network shares over 200 million pounds of essential, safe, quality food annually, provides social programs that help to foster self-sufficiency, and advocates for policy change that will help create a Canada where no one goes hungry. Visit foodbankscanada.ca for more information.

Relieving hunger today. Preventing hunger tomorrow.

For more on Food Banks Canada and  for a full copy of the report visit http://www.foodbankscanada.ca/ .

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