Bank On It!

Yesterday, the National and Provincial Hunger Counts were released for the year 2011 and the numbers show food banks are not going to disappear any time soon.  More than 2 out of every 100 people in Canada turned to food banks for some form of assistance during the year.  While this number has been steady for some time, what has changed is the number of persons seeking meals at drop in programs.  Most people who use a food bank have a home to cook food in but the majority of people using soup kitchens are homeless or do not have sufficient housing that allows them to make use of food banks.  So, in reality, Canada, and especially Ontario, has seen more people without the means to properly feed themselves.

The following chart demonstrates that there is a strong correlation between unemployment and food bank usage.  The numbers within the report also show increasing economic pressure on typical working class Canadians with more lower paying jobs, more part time jobs, fewer benefits and fewer people prepared for retirement.  What is just as distressing is the decline in donations to food banks and those food banks' ability to meet the demands.  This suggests that those of us not in need of food banks are also feeling the pinch.

With the unprecedented wealth of resources in Canada there is no excuse for continued need for food banks and food programs.  While I realize there will always be persons who will choose to live on the street and at the goodwill of others, most of the persons using food banks would gladly turn to feeding themselves if given the opportunity.  The next two months are crucial to the food banks in terms of donations; if you can afford to, please think about donating to your local food bank.  Or even drop by and give them a hand filling hampers, they are always grateful for the help.