Here's why Hamilton food banks are feeding more people than ever — and how to help
Food4Kids, which provides meals to nearly 1,350 kids each week, had to create a wait list for the first time
Amanda Hill said she never wanted to use this kind of service again, but the pandemic left her with no choice.
"I stayed away from the food banks [for a long time] … but I just thought 'I need the help right now,'" said the 43-year-old single mother, who lives in Hamilton with her two daughters and grandchild.
Hill is among a record number of people using local food banks and related services in recent years.
Since the start of the pandemic, many organizations have cited all-time high numbers. Those include:
- Wesley Urban Ministries said it served 226,000 meals between Apr. 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. It normally serves 100,000 meals a year.
- The Welcome Inn Community Centre said it had 18,230 visits this year, compared to the usual 12,000 per year.
- Food4Kids is sending meals to nearly 1,350 kids each weekend and had to create a wait list for the first time ever.
- The Neighbour to Neighbour Centre Hamilton (N2N) said it has seen roughly 1,200 families each month.
- Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg has served nearly 12,000 people since January.
- The Flamborough Food Bank about 120 families visit per week, compared to 30 families pre-pandemic.
- Jewish Family Services said it has 90 families per month getting meals, double what it saw two years ago.
"These are unprecedented times for us," said Food4Kids executive director Cathy Haan.
With job losses related to the pandemic and rising food and housing costs, some of the city's most vulnerable populations have faced even tougher circumstances than usual. While that highlights the dire need to improve food security, the increased need has also shown how willing people in the Hamilton area are to help each other.
Who's using food banks?
Local food banks say the pandemic has left people of all ages and creeds with growling stomachs.
Niwasa's executive director Monique Lavallee said nearly 36 per cent of the people the organization fed this year are 18 and under. She said that aligns with a 2015 report that showed some 37 per cent of local Indigenous children were living in poverty.
"We're seeing an alignment with what we already knew before the pandemic," she said.
Lavallee said the organization has also seen more single parents and women, however.
Welcome Inn Community Centre executive director James VanderBerg said 36 per cent of the centre's clients this year came for the first time and 37 per cent of clients are new to Canada.
The Flamborough Food Bank's managing director Jim Leamen said the vast majority of his clients are young families while Jewish Family Services executive director Alexis Wenzowski said her organization works with lots of seniors.
Meanwhile, Haan from Food4Kids — a program set up in some Hamilton public and Catholic schools — added 100 new spots this year but still had to resort to creating a questionnaire to determine which students needed food immediately and which would have to join a wait list. She said there are 68 kids and five schools waiting for a spot.
Why has there been a spike in food bank use?
Hill, the mother who has had to use a food bank once again, said she can't work due to a disability and relies on around $1,200 in monthly government support. She needed the help because the price of food and supplies climbed during the pandemic.
"If I could work and make good money for my family, that's what I would do … I'm just trying to do the best that I can every day," she said.
WATCH: Increased food bank use driven by high prices, pandemic unemployment
Food banks and other organizations all point to the same problems behind the spike in families seeking out meals — a rise in the cost of groceries and rent with a simultaneous drop in employment.
"A lot of our families, they are working families, working below the poverty line and they are not intentionally not feeding their kids, they are doing their best," Hann from Food4Kids explained.
VanderBerg from Welcome Inn pointed to job losses and how those also exacerbated inequities for people, especially those "working low-paying, front-line, often retail or hospitality-related jobs."
"And the other factor is increased rent affects those living on the edge the most. If you factor those two things in, if you were just making it on a minimum wage job or two … they're no longer just making it," he said.
Andrea Buttars, Wesley's director of resource, development and social enterprise, said the pandemic has also made it harder and more expensive to get meals to families because of COVID-19 precautions.
What are some solutions to improve food insecurity?
Leamen from Flamborough Food Bank supports implementing a basic living wage.
Krista D'Aoust, director of community food and family services at N2N, echoed that sentiment and offered other suggestions like a wages increase or more tax benefits for the poorest families.
"Right now we're just a Band-Aid," she said of food banks.
D'Aoust said another vital aspect is improving people's health.
"Anything that focuses on health — the health of the community, being able to connect with others, reduce social isolation as we come out of this pandemic, those kinds of community connections — are key."
VanderBerg from Welcome Inn said rent control and cooling the housing market is also pivotal, especially considering the wide the use of encampments in the area. He added climate change should be a priority seeing as its impact on agriculture is driving up the price of groceries.
Lavallee from Niwasa said Canada needs to allow Indigenous communities to come up with their own solutions.
What do food banks need?
Lavallee said non-perishables like pasta, pasta sauce, tuna and rice are always in need. She also said tampons and pads, pet food, toilet paper, baby formula, diapers and cleaning products are also in demand. Seniors are asking for nutritional drinks like Ensure, too.
And there's a need for more volunteers, staff, government funding and donations.
Local food banks say specific items worth donating include:
- Non-perishables like pasta, pasta sauce, tuna, rice, beans, tinned soup/stew, tinned chili and tuna.
- Baking ingredients like flour, wheat, cooking oil, milk and eggs.
- Canned fruit, canned pasta, canned tomatoes, crackers, jam, peanut butter and protein/granola bars.
- Perishables like fruits and vegetables are helpful for food banks with fridges and coolers.
- Tampons, pads, diapers and baby formula.
- Pet food and nutritional drinks like Ensure.
- Cleaning products and toilet paper.
'If you're struggling... put your pride aside and get the help'
Despite the challenges, people have still volunteered their time and energy to help. And staff are still working tirelessly to get families fed.
Buttars from Wesley said there's been a push to provide culturally appropriate meals for newcomers to Canada and the organization opened a hydroponic vertical farm inside a building in downtown Hamilton to help offer fresher food to clients.
She added that the global supply chain issue has also led staff to get creative in the kitchen.
"We've had to adapt some meals we had planned when we realized the food we ordered hadn't come in … I really credit the folks in our kitchen cooking and adapting," she said.
Lavallee said she recalls having a phone conversation with a family that just received food.
"The mom was crying and the children in the background, you could hear them shouting 'We have oranges, we have muffins, we're so happy' and the mom was just full of gratitude," she said.
Lavallee also said many services are also online to try and foster a sense of community. That includes time to speak with elders and knowledge keepers, as well as language and life-skills programs.
As for Hill, she said she doesn't regret calling Niwasa for help. She says other people shouldn't hesitate to use a food bank, either.
"If you're struggling and you need the help, put your pride aside and get the help you need for your family. There's organizations out there that are willing to help people."
This year, CBC Hamilton is once again teaming up with Hamilton Food Share for Sounds of the Season to help support local food banks. For more information or to donate, click here.
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