A Toronto food bank is urgently appealing for support as it witnesses a significant increase in the number of clients accessing its services.
Daily Bread Food Bank reported that there were over 274,000 visits to its 128 member food banks in August alone, which is double the number of visits during the same period last year.
“To provide some context, before the pandemic, we used to see around 65,000 visits per month… so visits have quadrupled since then,” said Talia Bronstein, vice-president of research and advocacy at Daily Bread Food Bank.
As Thanksgiving season approaches, the food bank is making a plea to raise $3.8 million and 227,000 pounds of food by the end of October.
“We truly hope we won’t have to turn anyone away, as access to food is a basic human right,” added Bronstein.
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This year, the impact of hunger is being felt across the entire country.
The CEO of Food Banks Canada stated that no region in the country has experienced a decline or stagnation in food insecurity, with 1.5 million visits to food banks occurring each month nationwide.
“We keep sounding this alarm, stating that we are currently experiencing the highest levels of food bank usage in Canadian history, and we keep breaking that record,” said Kirsten Beardsley.
“But this is not a record to celebrate.”
According to Beardsley, the problems exacerbated by the pandemic have not disappeared, and solutions must address the root causes of food insecurity, such as affordable housing and fixing the “outdated” employment insurance system.
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“What we’re witnessing is that many people are currently struggling to make ends meet. We have individuals with low incomes, people relying on social assistance and disability supports. On the other hand, the high cost of living significantly contributes to the increased demand for food,” said Beardsley.
Beardsley emphasizes the importance of addressing the root causes of food insecurity, as food banks currently serve as a crucial safety net preventing hundreds of thousands of people from going hungry.
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
