Food banks bracing for increase in demand in 2024, new report finds
Food banks and charities across Canada are bracing for an increase in demand in 2024, with more than one-third already reporting they have to turn people away.
According to the Second Harvest’s annual “Hungry for Change” study, demand across the country is expected to increase by 18 per cent. That translates to more than 1 million Canadians accessing food charity programs for the first time in 2024, the report stated.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“People in Canada can’t keep up with rising food costs,” said Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest. “More people are being pushed towards food charity, which for most people comes as a last resort. Food charities already struggle to meet the current demand, with many of them being forced to turn people away and add their names to growing waitlists for support. Our systems are buckling under the pressure.”
In Toronto, demand is expected to increase even more, as high as 30 per cent.
For many clients, it’s a difficult choice of paying for bills or groceries.
“It’s hard, I feel pressure,” said Christian Herrera, who lined up at the Fort York Food Bank for the first time after recently being laid-off from his construction job. “After I pay rent I have no money.”
Food banks and non-profits have been experiencing unprecedented demand while facing resource challenges, forcing many organizations to turn clients away or put them on waitlists.
Second Harvest surveyed more than 1,400 non-profit food programs and found that 36 per cent have a waitlist. In Toronto, that number is even higher at 50 per cent.
“We're absolutely seeing an increase and it has not stopped. So we've had to, because of limited resources, we had to limit our catchment areas, so that in turn makes people go other places,” said Aretha Khaloo, the director of Operations at Haven on the Queensway.
The small Etobicoke food bank serves more than one thousand clients every week, with between 40 to 60 people put on a waitlist.
“We have limited space, so we have food that comes in on Tuesday and we give it out right away. On top of that food, we would love to give out as much fresh food, as much fresh water and produce and all of that. However, we don't have that coming in,” said Khaloo.
Haven has already seen its demand increase by 38 percent from last year, and concern is mounting about that demand continuing to rise.
“We're going to have to do a lot of praying to be able to meet the demand - we will do our best,” said Khaloo. “At this point, where we're looking for help, we're looking for financial support, we're looking for community support and government support.”
Second Harvest is calling on the federal and provincial governments to bring back the Surplus Food Rescue Program, expanding the eligibility for the GST Grocery Rebate, increasing minimum wages and social assistance rates and lowering taxes for the lowest income households.
“Food charity is not a sustainable solution to food insecurity, it’s a band-aid for a gaping wound,” said Nikkel. “Starting now, we need to treat the cause of food insecurity, not just the symptoms. Solutions that address poverty and provide quick relief are sorely needed.”
At the municipal level, Second Harvest is advocating for a mandated surplus edible food redistribution from food businesses, distributors, street festivals and events and policy related to the measurement and reporting of food waste by businesses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.