Food bank use triples, hits record almost every month: Daily Bread Food Bank

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Food bank use across Toronto has tripled from levels before the pandemic – and demand has reached record highs almost every month this year, according to the Daily Bread Food Bank.

“We’re shocked every month when we do the calculations about the amount of food that we’re distributing,” said Diane Dyson, Daily Bread’s interim vice president of research and advocacy.

“We know that during the pandemic, the number of people using our services doubled. With the added complication of recession and inflation, we are tripled now.”

Before COVID, Daily Bread would register about 60,000 food bank visits each month in the GTA.

That has now hit 181,000 each month.

“It’s a bit scary,” said Dyson.

“People use their savings, and they sell anything they have because the food bank is sort of the last place somebody wants to come. But when all those things run out, then they show up at our doors.”

Daily Bread supplies food donations to about 130 agencies across the GTA.

“Every month since March, we have hit a record number of people that we’re serving,” said Julie Lejeune, executive director of the Fort York Food Bank in the city’s core.

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“Right now we are serving about 2,000 people a week – the highest we have ever served.”

That compares to just under 1,000 people a week before the pandemic struck.

The food bank’s College St. location also has a hot meal program that has had a similar increase in demand.

Daily Bread says precarious employment, unaffordable housing, and rampant inflation are major factors pushing people to rely on food banks.

And food inflation led the way in scorching Canadian’s pocketbooks in August.

Statistics Canada reported general inflation clocking in at 7%.

But grocery prices — specifically — advanced by almost 11% – the fastest rate in 41 years.

Gemma Donn started volunteering at Parkdale Food Bank at the beginning of the pandemic after her work as a musician dried up.

“Over the last six months, especially because of inflation, there are a lot more people who are coming who just can’t afford the grocery store prices anymore,” said Donn, who runs the bank’s volunteer and delivery programs.

While they used to serve about 2,000 people each month, the Parkdale Food Bank now caters to 8,000 people monthly.

“We are seeing families who maybe didn’t struggle so much before COVID,” said Donn.

slaurie@postmedia.com